A U.S. Air National Guard pilot, Captain Franklin Rodriguez, as well as a crew member of a U.S Airforce cargo airplane, Master Sergeant John Fong, who were arrested last year April on charges of smuggling close to 300,000 ecstasy tablets into the U.S. from Germany, pleaded guilty Friday to charges of importing the tablets and conspiracy to distribute them.
35-year old Rodriguez, who had once hoped to use his flying experience with the military to move into the commercial sphere, had over $700,000 in cash – found in his apartment – and his BMW seized as part of his plea bargain, plus faces up to 22 years in prison when he is sentenced in August. His partner in the smuggling operation, 37-year old Fong, has yet to make a deal on his sentence but faces a similar number of year behind bars. Both men had been caught on arrival in the US after having picked up the pills in Germany. They had earlier been involved in a mission to deliver supplies to Georgia in the Caucasus.
