By David Greene
BRONX, NEW YORK, January 31- Friends say he made his money finding and selling scrap iron on the street, but maintain his heart was as good as gold.
As sweet as he may have been, Gary Rodriguez lived life precariously on the edge and his luck eventually ran out, when a source maintains he was lured to a house-party on E. 204 Street-- when his assailant shot him once in the chest, in the early morning hours of December 9.
The source, who for obvious reasons will remain anonymous, claims she was with Rodriguez in the hours before the popular Norwood resident was shot on the sidewalk, just three blocks from his home and a block and-a-half from the 52nd Precinct station-house.
Speaking for the first time, the source claimed Rodriguez
received threatening phone calls that night from an ex-girlfriend, who still had keys to his rented room on Decatur Avenue.
received threatening phone calls that night from an ex-girlfriend, who still had keys to his rented room on Decatur Avenue.
The source recalled, "He was telling me he was going to change the locks."
Family members have confirmed that someone ransacked his room in the minutes after he was shot to death outside a private house at 3089 Decatur Avenue.
The source continued, "Whoever got inside the apartment took everything he had, and he had a lot of money... everything was gone."
The source claims that Rodriguez, 46, was dealing small amounts of marijuana in the area and may have gotten in the middle of a drug-turf battle along E. 204 Street and Decatur Avenue, the source maintained, "He was set up," with the promise of the house-party.
The source added, "It's like they fight for the damn territory and they don't let anyone else eat, and they were jealous of Gary because he was making money."
However, a close friend of Rodriguez believed it was not drugs, but a group from nearby Perry Avenue who was responsible, adding, "They got their feeling's hurt," during a previous incident.
If detectives didn't already have enough suspects, Rodriguez was also quite the lady's-man and was dating at least two other women while he lived with a third.
At the time of his death, Rodriguez was looking to expand his scrap metal business.
A wake for Rodriguez was held at the Ortiz Funeral Home on the Grand Concourse and he was laid to rest at St. Raymond's Cemetery on Saturday, December 15.
Despite rumors circulating the neighborhood that the gunman was apprehended, police maintain that the suspect remains at large and the case remains, "Active and ongoing."
Anyone with any information on Rodriguez' murder is asked to call CRIMESTOPPERS at (800) 577-TIPS, all calls remain confidential.
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