J.S. and all co-defendants were acquitted in 2000 of federal drug conspiracy charges when their wooden freighter that docked in the Port of Palm Beach for repairs was raided by Customs officers.  Found hidden in the boat was over 20 kilograms of power cocaine.  His defense was that he was a poor shipmate that had no knowledge of the hidden cocaine.

M.V. was acquitted in 2000 of all charges involving a federal conspiracy to traffick heroin.  His defense is that he was set up by a friend to be a drug courier when he did not have the intent to do so.

J.W. had his sentence reduced from 15.6 years to TIME SERVED once Val Rodriguez argued to a federal judge that a subsequent change in the law required a drastic re-sentencing for the defendant, who had previously been considered a career offender.

Henry Fecker was charged federally with 54 criminal counts, including conspiracy to commit money laundering offenses, money laundering, conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, and various obstruction of justice offenses relating to an alleged scheme to launder and conceal more than $15 million in proceeds derived from a Ponzi scheme that affected 30,000 victims. Mr. Fecker was acquitted of all 54 counts in February 2013, due to the hard work of Val Rodriguez, who had been appointed as private lawyer to defend Mr. Fecker.