Rodriguez retired from his Police Constable position in Webb County Precinct 1 in March after getting indicted by feds on February 9. 2022 for attempting to entice an individual to travel in foreign commerce to engage in prostitution.
By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
April 3, 2022
Laredo, Texas - On Thursday, March 31, 2022, former Webb County Police Constable Rodolfo "Rudy" Rodriguez Jr., 62, pleaded guilty as a result of a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas to one count of attempted attempting to entice an individual to travel in foreign commerce to engage in prostitution. Sentencing for Rodriguez Jr. was scheduled for June 9, 2022.
Rodriguez is facing up to 20 years in a federal prison and up to $250,000 in fines with supervision between five years to life.
Rodriguez Jr. is cooperating with federal prosecutors, according to the federal investigation.
According to the federal indictment Rodriguez Jr. engaged in coercion and enticement of an individual for the purpose of foreign commerce in prostitution activities (from Mexico to the U.S.) between June 1 and September 26, 2019 violating Section 43.02(b) of the Texas Penal Code.
Rodriguez Jr. had been a Webb County Police Constable in Laredo, Texas in Precinct 1 for at least 17 years and won reelection in 2020 with 57% of the vote.
The Webb County Commission accepted the Rodriguez Jr. resignation on March 28 and Precinct 1 Constable Chief Deputy Claudia Cantu took over Rodriguez Jr.'s command until the next election or a special election is held for the last two remaining years left in Rodriguez Jr.'s term. Rodriguez Jr. term as Constable would have ended on December 31, 2024.
In an unrelated federal indictment in Texas: On April 1, 2022, the U.S. Attorney's Office of Southern Texas released the following press release, a former deputy with the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Baldemar Cardenas, 36, Mission, admitted that in January 2020, he conspired with members of a drug trafficking organization.
Members of the group would receive kilogram quantities of highly-pure cocaine. They would then utilize small portions of the drugs to create sham cocaine with very low purity.
Cardenas would ensure authorities seized the fake bundles. The seizure would allow the co-conspirators to avoid responsibility for stealing the cocaine from their source of supply and allow the distribution of the stolen cocaine for profit.
In order to further the scheme and in exchange for $10,000, Cardenas provided information to law enforcement in order to effectuate the seizure of the sham bundles. Cardenas falsely claimed a confidential source provided the information. Based on the information he gave, law enforcement seized the multi-kilogram sham bundles of cocaine.
Laboratory testing conducted on the bundles revealed a cocaine purity level of only 1.5%.
U.S. District Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa accepted the plea and set sentencing for June 14. At that time, he faces a minimum of five and up to 40 years in prison. He was permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing.
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