Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Identity, Passport

0:00A 47-year-old Dominican man living illegally in the U.S. pleaded guilty this week to stealing a water-barried guy's identity for arrests and snagging a fake passport. Jose Luis Rodriguez faced federal court in Hartford on Tuesday, copying to charges of using a passport from false info and aggravated identity theft. The victim caught on in June 2025 when he tried getting a Connecticut ID at the Water Barry DMV right after prison. Turns out, someone had his name on an active driver's license issued back in 2001 and renewed plenty of times. Cops dug in and found Rodriguez holding that license while crashing in Waterbury, posing as the victim. His prints popped up in two FBI profiles, plus Waterbury PD arrest photos and records all under the stolen name. Fast forward to March 2020, Rodriguez used the victim's birth details to score a U.S. passport in Waterbury, then flashed it for travel and ID. Even claiming citizenship, that led to his arrest on December 30, 2025, with the State

1:02Department. He's locked up now facing over 10 years with sentencing set for July 27th. Identity theft like this hits hard, messing with real lives long-term. That's the story for today. Hartford News Today, Driven by AI