Plant City Man Sentenced to Over Nine Years in Federal Prison in Cocaine-Distribution Conspiracy

A Plant City man will be spending the next 110 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to traffic cocaine on behalf of a Mexican drug cartel in 2016.

According to federal prosecutors, Joseph Rumore was a significant distributor of drugs for the Matamoros cartel. Allegedly operating out of a local pallet company, prosecutors say he received large quantities of cocaine, divided the cocaine into small, salable quantities, then sold the cocaine to individual users at a profit. Prosecutors say the 34-year-old sold between one and five kilograms (2.2 and 11 pounds) of cocaine each week over the course of the year 2016.

Upon his arrest federal agents say they seized cocaine, methamphetamine, and over three-quarters of a million dollars in alleged drug proceeds. According to investigators, the operation netted over $3.8 million during the time of Rumore’s involvement.

Rumore pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine in January. In addition to nearly a decade in prison, the court entered a money judgment against him in the amount of $2,560,000. He joins four other co-conspirators in federal prison, all of whom received sentences ranging from between 46 months and 17-1/2 years.

The Law Offices of Bjorn Brunvand have been representing people charged with capital murder, felony drug charges, drunk driving, government fraud, and white-collar crimes for over a quarter century. Contact our office today to discuss your Tampa Bay-area state or federal charges.