CONCORD, NH - Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced yesterday that Wilfredo Tanon Rodriguez, 54, formerly of Nashua, New Hampshire, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute more than a quarter kilogram of cocaine.

According to court documents and statements made during earlier court proceedings, on July 1, 2016, the Nashua Police Department dispatched several officers to the parking lot of a city apartment complex. The officers were dispatched to that location in response to a citizen complaint about drug dealing activity there. After conducting surveillance, police later conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle in which Tanon Rodriguez was riding in the front passenger seat.

Tanon Rodriguez consented to a police inspection of a bag at his feet as well as a container found inside the bag. Inside the container, the police found approximately 279 grams of cocaine. After his arrest, Tanon Rodriguez admitted that, at the time of the traffic stop, he had been delivering the cocaine to a third party and that he had engaged in a similar transaction once before. Two firearms were found in a car belonging to Tanon Rodriguez, which was parked in the apartment complex that was the subject of the original police surveillance.

After serving the 30-month prison sentence, Tanon Rodriguez will serve three years of supervised release.

Luis D. Capo-Nieves -- the driver of the car - will be sentenced on a related charge on June 12, 2017. Capo-Nieves is also a former resident of Nashua.

This matter was investigated by the Nashua Police Department. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also provided assistance.

Posted 6/6/17