Head of Bronx safe streets program pleads guilty to drug possession in Orange County Court

Mike Randall, Middletown Times Herald- Record
·2 min read
1

GOSHEN - The head of a group that promotes safer streets in the Bronx, who was one of 15 arrested in an Orange County narcotics conspiracy investigation, pleaded guilty to a drug possession charge in Orange County Court on Thursday.

Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said Michael Rodriguez, 49, of Yonkers, pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and second-degree conspiracy, both felonies, before County Court Judge Craig Stephen Brown.

Rodriguez is the director of Bronx Rises Against Gun Violence, which works to promote safer streets in the Bronx and receives government funding.

Rodriguez was accused of supplying cocaine to narcotics dealers in Middletown and Port Jervis, and of possessing two illegal weapons. He was among 15 people arrested during a narcotics conspiracy investigation by the Orange County Drug Task Force, the Middletown and Port Jervis police departments, state police and the Orange County Sheriff's office earlier this year.

Expansion reviewed: New stores, parking, hotel proposed at Woodbury Commons

Hoovler said under the terms of an agreement announced at the time when Rodriguez pleaded guilty, it is expected he will be sentenced to 10 years in state prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision, when he returns to court on Jan. 4.

Rodriguez also agreed to forfeit a car and $165,000 in cash, which Hoovler said in a news release were ill-gotten proceeds of his crimes.

The cash, along with 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, scales, a money counter, an unlicensed .380-caliber Ruger pistol, an unlicensed Bond Arms .357-cailber handgun, a vacuum sealer and approximately $50,000 worth of jewelry, were seized when a search warrant was executed at Rodriguez's Yonkers home on July 26.

Emergency access: Schumer, Gillibrand, Ryan urge Federal Highway Administration to support I-84 crash gate

"Those members of our community who suffer through addiction are the vulnerable prey to people like this defendant, who chose a comfortable life cultivated on the backs and over the bodies of his customers," Hoovler said in a statement released by his office.

Glen Plotsky, Rodriguez's lawyer, said, "He took responsibility for his actions and now he will pay a penalty for his misbehavior."

Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record, Poughkeepsie Journal and The Journal News/lohud. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com or on Twitter @mikerandall845.

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Bronx safe streets program head pleads guilty to drug possession