Source: United States Department of Justice
SAN DIEGO – Ricky Jesus Rodriguez and his daughter, Jasmine Rodriguez, pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting they participated in a months-long conspiracy to smuggle banned refrigerants from Mexico into the United States on behalf of American air conditioning companies. Ricky Rodriguez admitted that he was paid tens of thousands of dollars to coordinate the smuggling of R-22, a hydrochlorofluorocarbon long banned from production and import in the United States. He admitted that he recruited others, including his daughter, to join the smuggling ring, and helped coordinate her role as well.