NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

MATT J. WHITWORTH

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html

DECEMBER 1, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW JERSEY MAN SENTENCED FOR DISTRIBUTING COCAINE

24 KILOS SEIZED IN HIGHWAY INTERDICTION

            SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Matt J. Whitworth, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a New Jersey man has been sentenced in federal court for possession with the intent to distribute cocaine after law enforcement officers discovered 24 kilos of cocaine hidden in his tractor trailer.

            Jose D. Rosario, 30, of New Jersey, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard E. Dorr on Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, to seven years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Rosario to forfeit to the government $1,243 that was seized at the time of his arrest, as well as a 1998 Kenworth tractor and a 2000 Wabash 52-foot trailer, which were used to commit the offense.

            Rosario, who pleaded guilty on Aug. 19, 2009, was the owner and co-driver of the tractor trailer, which was stopped for a commercial motor vehicle compliance inspection on eastbound I-44 in Greene County, Mo., on Jan. 14, 2008. During a search of the vehicle, officers discovered a hidden compartment located in the roof above the sleeper berth. Inside the compartment were 24 kilogram-sized bundles of cocaine.

            This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary K. Milligan. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is available on-line at

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html