A Florida inmate operated a drug trafficking organization from prison.
32-year-old Omar Idonis Graciani Rodriguez, of Orlando, operated a drug trafficking organization while incarcerated in prison on state charges, according to court documents. Graciani Rodriguez used contraband cellphones to instruct non-incarcerated co-conspirators to pick up money and controlled substances from various addresses, then deliver the money and controlled substances to other individuals. Graciani Rodriguez instructed his co-conspirators to maintain ledgers and send photos of the ledgers and currency to himself.
During the conspiracy that began no later than July 28, 2023, through November 30, 2023, Graciani Rodriguez directed his co-conspirators via phone calls, text messages and pictures. Specifically, during one transaction involving a kilogram of fentanyl, Graciani Rodriguez was on a contraband cellphone in real time from prison while his co-conspirator delivered the fentanyl to a buyer in the Middle District of Florida.
During a sweep of prison cells in June of 2024, the correctional officer found Graciani Rodriguez with two hidden cellphones and a SIM card from one of the phones in Graciani Rodriguez’s mouth. Graciani Rodriguez swallowed the SIM card after being instructed to spit it out. The officer also found a drug ledger in Graciani Rodriguez’s cell.
In total, Graciani Rodriguez distributed at least 400 grams of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl and at least 500 grams of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and profited $211,903 in drug proceeds.
Omar Idonis Graciani Rodriguez, of Orlando, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe to life in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute at least 400 grams of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl and at least 500 grams of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
Two co-conspirators, Rachel Beth Cordero and Mayerline Patricia Salcedo, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl. Cordero and Salcedo were sentenced on March 28, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger. Cordero was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months’ imprisonment. Salcedo was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment.
This Central Florida case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with help from the Florida Department of Corrections. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie A. McNeff.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhoods.
