ANCHORAGE, AK — A California inmate serving a life sentence is accused of running one of the largest drug trafficking operations in Alaska’s history — with the help of an Anchorage-based lawyer who allegedly crossed over to “the dark side.”
Federal prosecutors say Heraclio Sanchez Rodriguez, 58, used contraband cellphones from a California prison to orchestrate the smuggling of meth, fentanyl, and heroin from Southern California to Alaska. The drugs were sold at inflated prices, and more than 60 people are accused of being involved in the operation.
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Justin Facey, 44, the lawyer allegedly at Sanchez’s side, was indicted last week on federal drug and weapons charges. Prosecutors say Facey acted as a consigliere to Sanchez, facilitating the operation, arranging escapes, laundering money, and eventually selling drugs himself after his law license was suspended in February.
A DEA investigation uncovered text messages showing Facey boasting about his “cartel” connections and receiving fentanyl as compensation. At one point, he offered legal services in exchange for drugs and praised Sanchez for using women as a “little revenue laundromat.”
Authorities also say Sanchez ordered the murder of two women, including Sunday Powers, who was caught carrying $20,000 of his cash. Facey allegedly bragged to colleagues about the lucrative work he was getting from the cartel, though his legal practice soon crumbled under the weight of bar grievances, financial troubles, and his admitted meth addiction.
In court documents, prosecutors described Facey as a man spiraling into self-destruction, engaging in compulsive sexual misconduct and planning to live out of his RV with family after losing his practice.
Facey is currently being held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex. A judge has tentatively denied bail, with a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday.
