Ex-San Jose police union exec pleads guilty to drug smuggling
San Jose police union executive charged with distributing opioids
The executive director of the San Jose Police Officer's Association was charged with distributing opioids, according to federal officials. The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday said the U.S. Attorney's Office has charged a civilian, Joanne Segovia, 64, with ordering thousands of opioid and other pills to her home between October 2015 and January of this year.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - A disgraced former San Jose police union executive pleaded guilty Tuesday to smuggling drugs, federal authorities said.
Joanne Segovia, who once served as executive director for the San Jose Police Officers’ Association, pleaded guilty to illegally importing the opioid painkiller Tapentadol, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California.
Segovia, 65, earned the moniker "Breaking Bad" grandma after her indictment on federal drug charges.
An internal affairs investigation was also launched into Segovia's dealings after suspicions of her running an international opioid distribution network using union resources, like her work computer.
Segovia, known affectionately as "grandma" around the police union, according to union president Sean Pritchard, was sacked after a 20-year tenure following the internal affairs investigation.
Federal authorities said that from 2015 through 2023, Segovia received at least 61 drug shipments at her home from different countries, including Hong Kong, Hungary, India, and Singapore.
The shipments were labeled as "Wedding Party Favors," "Gift Makeup," or "Chocolates and Sweets." Officials intercepted five of those packages and found that they contained thousands of pills of controlled substances, including the synthetic opioids Tramadol and Tapentadol.
Authorities said Segovia also used her office at the police union to distribute the drugs. In one instance, Segovia shipped a package using the union's UPS account to a North Carolina woman.
According to the East Bay Times, Segovia's sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 21. She is allowed to remain free pending the preparation of a pre-sentencing report. She could face up to 20 years in prison.