Ex-postman who received cocaine on job avoids prison

Dec. 8—A former postal carrier who used the position to receive cocaine shipments — in an attempt to pay massive debts stemming from his gambling addiction, according to his lawyer — was sentenced Wednesday to the two days he has already spent in jail and five years of supervised release.

TIME SERVED

DEFENDANT: Jesus "Doddy" Rodriguez, 53, who lives in Windsor and formerly lived on King Street in East Hartford

GUILTY PLEA: Conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine

SENTENCE: Time served, two days, and five years of supervised release

Jesus "Doddy" Rodriguez, 53, who lives in Windsor and formerly lived on King Street in East Hartford, received the sentence during a hearing lasting only 15 minutes before Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in U.S. District Court in Hartford.

Rodriguez pleaded guilty in August 2021 to conspiring to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, which ordinarily carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.

But he was a first-time offender and met other criteria for what is known in federal drug law as the "safety valve." That eliminated the mandatory minimum sentence and cut his recommended sentence range under federal guidelines to 7 1/4 to nine years in prison.

Rodriguez's lawyer, James K. Filan, argued vigorously that he should receive the much more lenient sentence of time served because he has lived an otherwise exemplary life, including combat service in Operation Desert Storm and many years of steady work, sometimes for more than one employer at a time.

The defense lawyer argued that Rodriguez's gambling addiction was the sole reason he became involved in drug trafficking. He wrote in his sentencing memorandum that Rodriguez owes gambling debts of about $250,000.

Rodriguez underwent treatment for gambling addiction at the Wheeler Clinic from June 2019 to April 2021, when he successfully completed treatment and was discharged, according to the defense lawyer.

He quoted a clinical supervisor at the program as writing that Rodriguez "has remained abstinent from all gambling episodes, continues to render negative toxicology screens, and demonstrates good mental health.

"Treatment, at this time, is no longer medically necessary," the supervisor added.

Among the conditions of supervised release imposed by the judge were that Rodriguez get consent from the federal probation office for incurring any debt over $500 and cooperate with the probation office in the monitoring of any electronic devices he uses, court records show.

As a postal carrier on a Hartford route, Rodriguez would receive packages mailed to apparently non-existent people at addresses on his route, according to an affidavit by Rocky Hill police Officer Michael Breen, a member of a federal Drug Enforcement Administration task force.

Instead of delivering them to the addresses listed on the packages, he would turn them over to other drug traffickers. Authorities found kilogram quantities of cocaine in at least two of the packages, according to Breen's affidavit.

One of the seizures came after one of Rodriguez's co-defendants led law-enforcement officers on a dangerous, high-speed chase on Interstate 91 in March 2019, according to the officer.

The defense lawyer argued in his sentencing memo that Rodriguez is unlikely to commit future crimes because of his age and lack of any previous contact with the criminal justice system.

He resigned from the U.S. Postal Service in September 2021, has obtained a commercial driver's license, and has worked as a truck driver, according to his lawyer.

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