Bethlehem Man Charged With Robbery of Check Cashing Business

RAUL RODRIGUEZ, 40 years old of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was charged today by Indictment¹ with one count of robbery which interferes with interstate commerce, one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger and Northampton County District Attorney John M. Morganelli.  The defendant is alleged to have obstructed, delayed and affected commerce and the movement of articles and commodities in commerce by aiding and abetting the robbery of Envios Giraldo, a check-cashing business located at 331 South New Street in the City of Bethlehem, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on November 12, 2014.  The defendant and his conspirator possessed a firearm when committing the robbery, and threatened violence against an employee of Envios Giraldo with the firearm, while unlawfully taking $11,140 in United States currency from the business.  The defendant is a convicted felon, who is not permitted to possess a firearm in the United States.

If convicted on the robbery which interferes with interstate commerce, defendant Rodriguez faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years imprisonment, a 3 year mandatory period of supervised release up to a lifetime of supervised released, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.  If convicted on possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, defendant Rodriguez faces a maximum of life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum 7 years’ imprisonment consecutive to any other sentence imposed, a 5 year period of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.  If convicted on the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, defendant Rodriguez faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years imprisonment, a 3 year supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and $100 assessment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Allentown Division, the Northampton County District Attorney’s Office, and the City of Bethlehem Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Kelly Lewis Fallenstein and Assistant United States Attorney John Gallagher.

¹An Indictment, Information or Criminal Complaint is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.