(CBS-DETROIT) – A 44-year-old man will spend at least six years in prison for stealing money orders and cash from mailboxes at apartments and mobile homes in Michigan.
On Friday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that Rafael Rodriguez of Florida will serve between six and 20 years in prison.
From 2019 to 2022, Rodriguez and another Florida man, Juan Miguel Rodriguez-Venegas, stole rent payments in Bay, Midland, Oakland and Saginaw counties.
In March the The Office of the Attorney General and the Midland County Prosecutor’s Office have filed joint charges against both men.
Rodriguez and Rodriguez-Venegas pleaded guilty in August to one count of operating a criminal enterprise. In September, Rodriguez-Venegas, 56, was sentenced to between two and 20 years in prison.
State officials say Rodriguez was ordered to pay more than $27,284 in restitution and Rodriguez-Venegas was ordered to pay $36,235.
“Michiganders work hard and deserve better than having their rent payments fished out of mailboxes and stolen by criminals,” Nessel said in a written statement released Friday by the Department of Attorney General.
