The president of a Connecticut motorcycle club was sentenced to five years in federal prison on Tuesday for trafficking fentanyl and cocaine as part of a large-scale operation.
Jeimy Rodriguez, 39, of West Hartford, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Rodriguez previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl on June 27, officials said.
In July 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force began an investigation into a large-scale operation that was trafficking “kilogram quantities” of fentanyl and cocaine in Connecticut. The investigation included court-authorized wiretaps, surveillance and controlled purchases, according to court records.
Early in the investigation, Rodriguez was the president of the Loose Cannonz motorcycle club. Investigators learned that Rodriguez and his co-defendants, including one who later succeeded Rodriguez as president of the club, were receiving shipments of fentanyl and cocaine to sell in the Hartford area, court records show.
According to court records, investigators made a controlled purchase of 80 grams of fentanyl from Rodriguez at his auto repair shop on Broad Street in Hartford on March 13, 2023. On April 7, 2023, they reportedly purchased 86 grams of cocaine from Rodriguez in the area of Zion and Hamilton Streets in Hartford.
“The cocaine appeared to be broken off of a kilogram brick of cocaine,” officials said.
Rodriguez was arrested at a West Hartford residence on June 7, 2023. Investigators reportedly seized two firearms at his home at the time of his arrest, according to officials. That same day, investigators seized an “additional quantity of fentanyl” during a search of the Loose Cannonz club in Hartford, officials said.
Rodriguez has been detained since his arrest, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
