MIDDLETOWN – Michael Rodriguez, 49, of the Bronx and Yonkers, also had in his possession when arrested 1 ½ kilos of cocaine, $165,000 in cash, three pistols and a shotgun, $50,000 in jewelry and drug paraphernalia.
District Attorney David Hoovler said the irony is that he was executive director of Bronx Rises Against Gun Violence.
“So, the very guy that we have that is supposed to be stopping gun violence in one jurisdiction in New York City, is poisoning our jurisdiction up here,” the DA said. Rodriguez had two guns when arrested.
He is being held in the Orange County Jail without bail.
Angelica Rodriguez, 39, of Otisville, no relation to Michael, a known drug dealer in Orange County, was also charged with conspiracy and drug possession.
Hoovler said no matter what form the illicit drugs take, they are laced with fentanyl, and that is what is killing people.
The two-year investigation included city police from Middletown, Port Jervis, and Yonkers, the Orange County Drug Task Force and District Attorney’s Office, State Police violent Gang and Narcotics Enforcement team, sheriff’s Special Operations Group, and Hudson Valley Crime Analysis Center.
Fentanyl related cases are staggering. Hoovler said between 2017 and 2022, between 117 and 142 people died every year in this county from overdoses, 99 percent of them because of fentanyl in some way, shape or form finds its wan into drugs they are taking.
In 2022, there were 730 non-fatal overdoses in Orange County. In 2021, 634 non-fatal. Last year in the City of Middletown, there were 68 and in the City of Port Jervis, 63 overdoses.
