70-something pleads guilty to feds

A 73-year-old Chula Vista businesswoman has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money in a federal case involving renting a warehouse that concealed a hidden underground tunnel to Mexico.

Glennys “Gladys” Marie Rodriguez will be sentenced Feb. 27, 2015, and she remains free on $75,000 bond. She owns a business that provides immigration services and prepares taxes.

Rodriguez said she didn’t know there was a secret tunnel in the warehouse at 10145 Via De La Amistad near the border when she worked to rent the warehouse. She did admit to knowing there was some type of unlawful activity involved as she converted cash into money orders to shield the source of the cash, according to court records.
U.S. District Court Judge William Gallo accepted the guilty plea on Dec. 11 and she faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Other charges of maintaining a drug involved premises, and use of a cross border tunnel will be dismissed.

A second person, Gilberto Quezada-Madrid, 26, of Tijuana, has pleaded guilty use of a cross border tunnel and will be sentenced on March 20. He also faces a 20-year maximum sentence, and he remains in jail.

Federal agents maintained months of surveillance near the warehouse and Rodriguez was seen there with keys. A machine to wrap pallets of merchandise was moved in March and agents observed a newly painted square patch of the floor underneath the machine.

Agents discovered a subterranean tunnel underneath the patch on the floor. Court documents described the tunnel entrance as being approximately 2 ½ feet by 2 ½ feet leading to a walkway. At the end of the walkway, there was a 68-foot vertical shaft that led to a 600-yard tunnel that had lighting, ventilation, and a rail system.

The tunnel’s entry point in Tijuana was inside a mini-storage facility about 800 feet south of the border, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. A second tunnel in a commercial building nearby was also discovered. No drugs were found though it was believed that drug trafficking was the tunnel’s purpose.