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Inside grandma Joanne Segovia’s ‘Breaking Bad’-style double life of ‘drug-dealing,’ hoodwinking her police union co-workers.nhttps://nypost.com/2023/04/05/inside-the-secret-life-of-drug-dealing-grandma-joanne-segovia/n

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nnA California grandmother accused of running a global fentanyl ring while working for a police union hoodwinked her family for years with a Walter White-worthy performance, stunned relatives and co-workers told The Post.nnJoanne Marian Segovia, 64, kept family and colleagues in the dark by leading a “Breaking Bad”-style double life from late 2015 through January as she allegedly accepted at least 61 illegal drug shipments from Hong Kong, Hungary, India and Singapore at her home in a gated San Jose neighborhood.nnThose who know her are struggling to figure out why she would do this.nnAccording to a relative, Irma Segovia Sweat, Joanne and her husband, Domingo, weren’t hurting financially, although Joanne dealt with an unspecified illness about three years ago, Sweat said.nn“They didn’t need any money,” she said. “They both had made really good money and didn’t need anything.”nn“We are still trying to wrap our heads around everything because that is so not her,” a different relative, Segovia’s niece, told The Post. “Our family is very shocked and surprised. No one knew anything!”n

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nFamily and co-workers of Segovia, seen here with husband Domingo, say they were in the dark about her alleged eight-year fentanyl importation and distribution scheme.Dom Segovia / Facebooknn

Segovia, who worked as the executive director of the San Jose Police Officers’ Association, apparently never gave any indication that she — as alleged in the federal complaint against her — was using her personal and office computers to order thousands of opioid pills and other drugs to her home and then ship them throughout the country.nn“She is the sweetest lady ever, very loving, very giving, very family-oriented,” according to Segovia’s niece, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “She’s a very awesome lady. That’s why we are, like, all surprised and can’t believe it.”nnSegovia’s husband, Domingo, 79, was also oblivious to his wife’s alleged scheme to import valeryl fentanyl, his niece said. The shipments of drugs were marked as “wedding party favors” or “chocolate and sweets,” federal prosecutors said.nn“My uncle would never allow that, nor participate in anything like that,” Segovia’s niece said. “He’s a very successful man — knowledgeable and smart. I can guarantee 1,000,000% he had no clue about that.”nnDomingo Segovia, a military vet who previously worked as a butcher, did not return messages seeking comment.n

nSegovia’s niece said she was still struggling to process the accusations as of Tuesday — six days after the police union official was charged with unlawfully importing valeryl fentanyl, a version of the deadly drug.nnIf convicted, Segovia faces up to 20 years in prison.nn“I was in a state of shock,” the couple’s niece added of the news about her aunt. “I had just woken up in the morning and I had messages from family members. Nobody wants to believe it, but we just got to let the justice system run its course. And our family’s going to need a lot of healing because their name is being dragged across the country over this whole ordeal.”nnSweat said she doesn’t believe her cousin Domingo knew anything about his wife’s purported alter ego as an international drug dealer.n

n“He is just a really good man and if he found out something like that, I don’t think he would ever put up with it,” Sweat told The Post. “I am as shocked as everyone else — and actually, none of us believe it.”nnSegovia has worked for the San Jose Police Officers’ Association since 2003 as a civilian employee. As executive director, she oversaw the front office and supervised two other workers, spokesman Tom Saggau said.nn“When the news broke, it was utter disbelief,” Saggau told The Post. “That’s now turned to anger due to the alleged deception and what the accusations detail. Every cop goes to work trying to get fentanyl and other drugs off the street, so you do feel a little betrayal.”n

nSegovia, a grandmother of two, was the union’s “front face,” Saggau said, the first person who greeted office visitors.nn“Everyone knew who Joanne was,” Saggau continued. “You’d walk in the door and there’d always be a pleasant conversation or she’d ask about your family. She was just very personable, she was nice, she would bring in cookies and candy. So, when this broke, everybody was like, ‘What are you talking about? This can’t be.’”nnSegovia, who appeared in court Friday, was released without bond. She could not be reached for comment and remains on paid leave from her police union job as an internal investigation continues. Saggau said he last saw her about three weeks ago and nothing appeared out of the ordinary.nn“It makes it incredibly hard to understand what was going on,” the union spokesman said. “She was like the grandma of the POA. No one’s going to think Grandma is dealing fentanyl.”n

nSegovia had never previously worked as a police officer, Saggau said. It’s unclear if she’s hired an attorney who could speak on her behalf.nnSpecial Agent David Vargas also said in the affidavit that Segovia used the police association’s supplies to help run her drug business.nn“Based on my training and experience, I believe that Segovia was using a computer at her home, and another at her office, to pay for shipments of controlled substances,” Vargas wrote. nnThe complaint details how, in 2021, “Segovia was told by a supplier to send a package to a woman in North Carolina. Segovia then sent this supplier a photograph of a shipment made using the UPS account of San Jose Police Officers’ Association.”nnSome of the packages intercepted by authorities between 2019 and January contained thousands of synthetic opioid pills, federal prosecutors said.n

nAt least one subsequent shipment made by Segovia led to an overdose, a source close to the matter told The Post.nnSegovia allegedly relied on encrypted WhatsApp messages to plan shipments, exchanging hundreds of messages over the past three years with a phone number that had an India country code.nnSegovia denied the allegations and told authorities the mastermind was actually her housekeeper — a “family friend” allegedly suffering from a substance abuse disorder, according to a Homeland Security Investigations report.nnIf found guilty, it means Segovia betrayed her police union colleagues in the worst way while using her proximity to cops as a shield, former NYPD officer Bill Stanton said.n

n“It’s insidious,” Stanton told The Post of Segovia’s alleged actions. “Even though she wasn’t a police officer per se, she was amongst law enforcement and the code.”nnStanton, an author and security expert, said Segovia’s stunning arrest shows that “bad people come in all shapes and sizes” rather than fitting preconceived molds.nnStanton said Segovia’s alleged eight-year run as an international drug importer seemingly mirrored the duplicitous exploits of suburban chemistry teacher Walter White, portrayed by actor Bryan Cranston in AMC’s smash TV hit “Breaking Bad.”nn“The villain doesn’t always wear a black suit with a top hat and a handlebar mustache,” Stanton said. “It’s incumbent upon all of us to realize that.”nnSan Jose’s mayor, meanwhile, said the charges against the outwardly demure grandmother were “incredibly disturbing” while noting she didn’t represent any elected officials in the city.nn