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| image_caption =
| date_of_birth =[[July 9]], [[1972]]
| place_of_birth =La Playa Colorada, Jalisco, Mexico
| date_of_death =
| place_of_death =
| occupation =Restaurateur, drug dealer
| religion =
| spouse =Cecilia Galvan| parents =Fidel Galvan and Micaela Chavez| children =Samantha and Carlos
}}
'''Rogelio Galvan Chavez''' is the former owner of [[Cancun's Mexican Grill]] who was convicted in early [[2008]] on charges of drug conspiracy and harboring illegal immigrants.
A native of Mexico, Chavez came to the United States in {{date needed}}the late 80's, working as a dishwasher and eventually achieving citizenship through naturalization. He owned [[Cancun's Mexican Grill]] with locations in [[downtown Pensacola]] (which later closed), [[Gulf Breeze]] and [[Navarre]]. He was sympathetic to the immigrant community and temporarily closed his restaurants during the [[2006]] [[Wikipedia:Great American Boycott|Great American Boycott]] as an act of solidarity.<ref>"Hispanics show support." ''Pensacola News Journal'', April 29, 2006.</ref>
In February [[2007]], Chavez and his restaurants became the target of a federal investigation after he began meeting with an undercover [[Wikipedia:Drug Enforcement Administration|DEA]] source in Atlanta. In taped conversations, Chavez offered to sell the source 100 kilograms of cocaine and 100 pounds of methamphetamine.<ref name="affidavit">"Affidavit: Restaurants fronted major drug ring." ''Pensacola News Journal'', December 8, 2007.</ref> According to authorities, Chavez knowingly hired illegal immigrants, including [[Alejandro Hatem-Hernandez]], to work in his restaurants and in his drug operations. An acquaintance of Hatem-Hernandez was approached by federal agents and convinced to serve as an undercover informant for the investigation. They tracked the operation to Atlanta and Montgomery, where Chavez procured the drugs to resell in Northwest Florida. He allegedly used code in correspondence — for example, the word "car" represented a kilogram of cocaine, worth about $22,000<ref name="guilty"/> — and also sold "any type of firearm that [the informant] desired" through his associates.<ref>"[http://www.gulfbreezenews.com/news/2007/1213/front_page/001.html Feds: Chavez a drug kingpin.]" ''Gulf Breeze News'', December 13, 2007.</ref> According to Hatem-Hernandez, Chavez knew the main cocaine supplier in Atlanta, described as a mercenary who would "just go kill anybody," from "when they were kids."<ref name="affidavit"/>
Chavez was found guilty on all four counts by a jury on [[February 11]].<ref name="guilty"/> He was sentenced to life in prison on [[April 30]].<ref>"Restaurateur gets life." ''Pensacola News Journal'', April 30, 2008.</ref>
Chavez has a brother, Enrique Chavez, also convicted of drug charges in 1998. Serving a 27 year sentence. A brother-in-law in Panama City also convicted of drug charges
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Drug dealers|Chavez, Rogelio]] [[Category:Natives of Mexico|Chavez, Rogelio]] [[Category:Restaurateurs|Chavez, Rogelio]]
