Posted on 03/29/2002 3:14:36 AM PST by 2Trievers
Some people get no-hassle checking after they open a bank account. Others get small prizes. Jesus Rodriguez got 33 months in prison.
U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver yesterday sentenced Rodriguez, 34, for drug and money laundering in a classic criminal screw-up.
On Aug. 17, 1999, Rodriguez saw a news report that authorities had arrested several members of a Mexican drug cartel. Since Rodriguez, a Mexican national, had hauled more than 200 pounds of cocaine from Los Angeles to Cleveland, he panicked, fearing he was next.
So, the next day, he lugged two shopping bags filled with $301,000 to Firstar Bank in Strongsville. To hide the money from police, he opened a checking account and two safety deposit boxes, prosecutors said. But before he left, he made a mistake: He told bank officials that he had no job.
The bank became suspicious and called police, who followed Rodriguez. A week later, he withdrew the money from the bank.
Soon after he got to his apartment in Strongsville, U.S. Customs agents knocked on the door. "Come on in," he told them. "I knew you guys were following me and would get me."
Agents later found $100,000 more in the apartment. A federal judge last year gave the money, $456,000 in all, to police and federal agencies for future drug investigations. Oliver gave Rodriguez a break in the sentence because he cooperated with authorities involving two dealers. Rodriguez had pleaded guilty to the charges in 1999.
But when the judge asked whether Rodriguez wanted to say anything before he was sentenced, he swayed back and forth and shook his head. The man of too many words at the bank couldn't find any in court.
"No," he said softly.
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