Alexia Echevarria has opened up about her relationship with ‘cocaine cowboy’ Pedro ‘Pegy’ Rosello, recalling how the drug kingpin paid for her $42,000 engagement ring in cash before his arrest.
The former Real Housewives of Miami star, 54, was interviewed for Netflix’s explosive new docuseries Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami, which chronicles the rise and fall of Augusto ‘Willy’ Falcon and Salvador ‘Sal’ Magulota’s cocaine empire.
Known as ‘Los Muchachos,’ the Miami-based drug traffickers brought in more than 75 tons worth of cocaine in the United States from Colombia in the 1980s with the help of their associates — including Pegy.
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Candid: Alexia Echevarria (L)opened up about her relationship with her ex-husband, drug dealer Pedro ‘Pegy’ Rosello (R), in Netflix’s new series Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami
Looking back: Alexia insisted that she ‘never suspected’ Pegy was dealing drugs when they started dating in 1987, saying he ‘did not look like a drug dealer’
Pegy met Sal and Willy as a teen through his sister Gina Rosello, who dated and later married Willy’s brother Gustavo ‘Taby’ Falcon. He used to clean their cars for them to make extra money before he moved up the ladder of the business, which Taby was also a part of.
He started trafficking drugs for Sal and Willy, but he eventually took on a larger role in the distribution after the arrest of Justo Jay. Pegy was heavily involved in the cocaine empire when he first saw Alexia eating lunch with her father at a local restaurant in 1987.
‘There’s this blonde girl sitting with this older man, and my friend, he’s like, “Hey, look at that blonde girl. She’s really pretty,'” he recalled. ‘And I’m like, “Bro, stop looking over there. She’s with her husband, you know? You want to get us into a fight or whatever?”‘
Although they didn’t speak, he caught her eye that day as well. That Friday, they were both at Club Nu when Pegy’s friend recognized her as the girl from the restaurant and brought her over to him.
True crime: The series chronicles the rise and fall of massive cocaine empire built by Salvador ‘Sal’ Magulota (L) and Augusto ‘Willy’ Falcon (R)
Criminal activity: Pegy was heavily involved in Sal and Willy’s drug trafficking business when he first saw Alexia dining with her father in Miami in 1987
‘I think he was in the VIP [section] and I saw like all these girls around him. I was like, “Oh my God,”‘ Alexia explained.
Pegy was immediately charmed by her and recalled saying, ‘Find me the priest. I’m getting married’ — but he had some competition.
Alexia pointed out that baseball player Jose Canseco was also interested in her that night, although she ended up having more of a connection with Pegy.
They hung out at the beach together the next day, but something strange happened when she was at his apartment at around 1 a.m.
Connection: A few days after she caught his eye at the restaurant, they ran into each other at Club Nu. The hit it off and went to the beach together the next day
Suspicious: Alexia recalled how Pegy got at phone call at 1 a.m. that night and told her that he had to leave. She thought he had a girlfriend or was married
Clueless: Alexia insisted that she ‘never suspected’ Pegy was dealing drugs when they started dating, saying he ‘did not look like a drug dealer’
‘He gets a phone call and he like, “I gotta go,”‘ she recalled. “What do you mean you gotta go?” He’s like, “Yeah, but you can stay.” And I’m like, “I’m not staying.” He left so quickly that at that moment I said, “This guy has a girlfriend or he’s married.”
Alexia said she picked up her things and left, adding: ‘Little did I know that it was some shipment that was coming in, and he had to go pick up the merchandise.’
She insisted that she had no idea he was a drug dealer when they first started dating, noting that ‘everybody spoke so nicely of him.’ No one warned her to ‘be careful of him.’
‘In the very, very beginning, I never suspected anything of him,’ she explained. ‘Peter did not look like a drug dealer to me. I didn’t know what a drug dealer was really supposed to look like, except maybe Scarface.’
Cover story: Alexia said Pegy told her that he ran his mother and father’s businesses, but he never explained what that entailed
Red flags: Alexia admitted there were ‘signs’ that he was a drug dealer, including the stockpile of cash and different cars he had
Alexia said he told her that he ran his mother and father’s businesses, though he didn’t elaborate on what that entailed.
‘So he would leave in the morning to go to the gym and to supposedly go to work,’ she said. ‘But I didn’t know what work was.’
In the late ’80s, Pegy was pulling in around $250,000 a month and was financially supporting his entire family. He had multiple apartments and homes, which cost him $30,000 a month in rent alone.
‘I started thinking about all these different things that were signs, the cash, the different boats, the different cars. I mean nothing was ever his, but it was the family,’ Alexia recalled. ‘I’m not gonna lie. He wasn’t the first drug dealer I went out with.’
She admitted that she had a thing for bad boys when she was younger, saying she subconsciously ‘wanted to make them good boys.’
Bad boy magnet: ‘I’m not gonna lie. He wasn’t the first drug dealer I went out with,’ said Alexia, who recalled how he paid for her $42,000 engagement ring in cash
Closing in: Pegy called off their wedding after being warned that the authorities were going to arrest him that day. He was arrested on September 17, 1991, and helped authorities locate Sal
Pegy said it took about a year and a half for him to start dating Alexia seriously because of the lifestyle that he lived.
‘You don’t want to get tied up to anybody,’ he explained. ‘I mean, you’re in the drug business. You’re a drug dealer. That’s the last thing you want to do is get married and have somebody involved in a world that’s crazy.’
Alexia recalled how she went with him to pick up her engagement ring at Mayors Jewelers in South Florida.
‘He paid $42,000 for the ring. He did pay cash,’ she said, looking back on their engagement. ‘I’m already making plans to get married at the InterContinental Hotel. Willy Chirino was gonna sing at our wedding. Yoly Munoz did my wedding dress.
‘And he’s living the perfect fake life when all this stuff is gonna happen in the next few months.’
Standing by her man: Alexia and Pegy got married and had their son, Peter Jr., while he was out on bail in 1992
Heartbreaking: Alexia recalled how she held him and cried right before he had to turn himself in to start his five-year sentence
Short sentence: Pegy, who initially feared he would spend the rest of his life in prison, was released after four years
Alexia said that Pegy’s sister Gina came to his home ‘really late at night’ and warned him to call off the wedding because he was about to get arrested. She looked at him and saw that ‘he was afraid.’
‘I heard that they were waiting for me to get married, that they were gonna go arrest me on the day of my wedding,’ he explained. ‘I had to call the whole thing off. I mean, it broke my heart to tell her, “Hey, listen. We can’t do it.”‘
On September 17, 1991, Pegy was leaving their home after having breakfast with Alexia when a swarm of cops surrounded him.
Pegy said he yelled, ‘Don’t open the door,’ to Alexia, and while she was inside, she burned photos of his Ferrari and his Apache powerboat.
Alexia said she refused to tell the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Pegy’s name, nor would she confirm that she lived with him.
Over: Pegy was released a year early in 1996, and they welcomed their second son, Frankie. They got divorced that same year
New life: Alexia went on to marry Herman Echevarria and starred on The Real Housewives of Miami from 2011 to 2013
Busted: After Pegy’s interview for the docuseries, he was arrested for attempting to sell five kilograms of cocaine to a DEA informant. He is scheduled to be released from prison in 2022
‘We go to court two or three days later to get bond. For the first time, I’m hearing all the charges that this person that I’m marrying is being charged with,’ she said. ‘I just remember the “75 tons of cocaine.” I remember “conspiracy,” and I remember “25 years, minimum.”
‘Chris Clark, the U.S. attorney, I just remember him being an a**hole, like they all are, and he was just like. “Okay, he’s not getting bond. He belongs to this horrific organization. He’s a threat to society. And I was like, “They have to have the wrong person.”‘
Alexia said she started crying when she realized that she may never see Pegy again. However, her family thought it was the ‘perfect opportunity’ for her to cut ties with him.
‘I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t,’ she said. ‘I’m like, “This is when he needs me the most. This is when I’m gonna fight for him.” And, you know, I had to do it.’
Fearing that he was facing life in prison, Pegy cooperated with the authorities and helped them locate Sal, which led to Willy being found.
When he was out on bail in 1992, he and Alexia married and welcomed their first son, Peter Jr. She recalled how she held him and cried right before he had to turn himself in to start his five-year sentence.
Co-parents: Alexia, pictured with their sons Peter Jr. and Frankie, said her ex-husband Pegy has ‘always been a great dad’
Looking to the future: Alexia is now engaged to real estate investor Todd Nepola and is slated to appear in The Real Housewives of Miami reboot that is to air on Peacock
Pegy was released a year early in 1996, and they welcomed their second son, Frankie. They got divorced that same year. Alexia went on to marry Herman Echevarria, who appeared on The Real Housewives of Miami with her from 2011 to 2013.
The couple split up in 2015, and Herman passed away a year later at the age of 61. She is now engaged to real estate investor Todd Nepola and is slated to appear in The Real Housewives of Miami reboot that is to air on Peacock.
Meanwhile, Pegy has continued to have numerous run-ins with the law. He was sentenced to 12 years probation after being arrested for having sex with a minor in 2007.
‘Peter’s always been a great dad. He refuses to grow up, but he’s grown up a little bit,’ Alexia said at the end of Cocaine Cowboys. ‘I don’t want him to get in trouble again. I don’t want my kids or myself to go through that pain.’
After Pegy’s interview, he was arrested for attempting to sell five kilograms of cocaine to a DEA informant. He is scheduled to be released from prison in 2022.
‘The life that I live. I don’t want it for my kids,’ he said in the series.