A
Dominican Republic man, who resided unlawfully in the Inwood section of
Manhattan, was deported early Thursday January 24, 2013, and turned over to
Dominican Republic authorities by officers with U.S. Immigration and Custom's
Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). The man, who was
wanted in connection with four murders, was previously removed from the United States
after a felony criminal conviction for selling narcotics. After his prior
deportation, he illegally re-entered the country.
Hector
Vargas-Valero, 39, a Dominican Republic
national, was deported from the United
States via an ICE charter flight. ERO
officers turned him over to Dominican
Republic authorities early Thursday, January
24, 2013. His removal follows his Jan. 7, 2013, arrest by ERO officers assigned
to the agency's Criminal Alien Program.
On
Aug. 26, 2011, Vargas-Valerio and co-conspirators allegedly kidnapped four
individuals in which all were murdered in Santiago,
Dominican Republic.
On Sept. 22, 2011, a judge in Santiago
issued a warrant for Vargas-Valerio's arrest in relation to this alleged crime.
On
July 12, 2012, Interpol issued a "diffusion notice" for
Vargas-Valerio. This notice requests the arrest or location of an individual -
or additional information - in relation to a police investigation.
"Vargas-Valerio
is an international fugitive who allegedly kidnapped and ended four lives in
the Dominican Republic,"
said Raymond A. Simonse, acting field office director for ERO New York.
"He illegally entered the United
States in an attempt to evade justice and
start a new life. We discovered who he really is, and now we have returned him
to his homeland to face prosecution for his alleged crimes."
Vargas-Valerio
was admitted into the United
States as a lawful permanent resident
July 18, 1984. New York Superior Court convicted him Oct. 6, 1993, for selling a
controlled substance. He was subsequently sentenced to 54 months in prison.
Due
to the criminal conviction, his legal status was revoked. On Nov. 18, 1998, the
legacy Immigration and Nationality Service removed Vargas-Valerio from the United States to the Dominican Republic.
After
his deportation, Vargas-Valerio returned to the United States unlawfully. The
agency reinstated his final order of removal from 1998.
Since
Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 566 foreign fugitives from the United States
who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including
kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with ICE's Office of International
Affairs, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to
identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.
Timothy
Joseph Carr, 29, of Baltimore, was sentenced Thursday, January 3, 2013 to 10
years in prison followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District
Judge William D. Quarles Jr. for conspiring to distribute five kilograms or
more of cocaine.
The
sentencing follows an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the assistance
of the Louisiana State Police.
According
to his guilty plea, on Nov. 10, 2011 Louisiana State Police seized
approximately five kilograms of cocaine from a vehicle driven by co-defendant
Daniel Bois in Louisiana, who was driving the
cocaine from Texas to its Baltimore destination. After arresting Bois,
law enforcement continued its investigation into the cocaine organization based
in Baltimore
and conducted a controlled delivery of the cocaine the following day.
The
cocaine was replaced with "sham cocaine" and delivered to 3501 8th Avenue in Baltimore, where
co-defendants Timothy Dennison and Anthony Taylor accessed the vehicle where
law enforcement had concealed the sham cocaine. Law enforcement arrested
Dennison and Taylor.
Further
investigation revealed that Carr had also driven, in a separate rental car from
Bois, another load of five kilograms of cocaine back to Baltimore
from McAllen, Texas, Nov. 10, 2011. According to travel
records, Carr rented a car Nov. 7, 2011 after flying to McAllen
from BWI Airport. Additionally, Carr and other
members of the cocaine organization had made several trips between Baltimore and Texas in
the past year to transport several additional kilograms of cocaine for
distribution in the Baltimore
area.
In
all, Carr conspired to distribute between five and 15 kilograms of cocaine.
Timothy
Lee Dennison, 22, Daniel Bois, 26 and Anthony Fraser Taylor, 29, all of Baltimore, and two other
co-defendants pleaded guilty to their participation in the conspiracy. Dennison
was sentenced to 15 years in prison and the other defendants remain to be
sentenced.
The
case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brooke Carey and Christopher
Romano.
Two Mexican men involved in separate narcotics smuggling conspiracies were sentenced to life in prison Wednesday, December 5, 2012, in North Carolina. Both investigations involved U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
According to filed documents and court proceedings, Alejandro Salinas Garcia, 31, led a conspiracy that lasted from 2002 to 2009, and involved the importation of more than 600 kilograms of cocaine, in excess of one kilogram of crack cocaine, approximately two kilograms of methamphetamine and more than 5,000 pounds of marijuana, primarily from Mexico through the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Court filings indicate that Garcia was the leader of the conspiracy and the local source of supply for the drug trafficking organization.
Court records show that, among other things, Garcia used his co-defendants to distribute the narcotics and to enforce and collect debts from customers.
The investigation of Garcia's trafficking organization was conducted by HSI, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NC SBI), the North Carolina Alcohol Enforcement Agency, the Hickory Police Department, the Catawba County Sheriff's Office, the Newton Police Department, the Iredell County Sheriff's Office and the Davie County Sheriff's Office.
Garcia was sentenced to life in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Richard L. Voorhees following his prosecution by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina.
Cesar Sierro-Pineda, 34, of Mexico, was also sentenced to life in prison by Judge Voorhees for his role in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy. According to filed court documents and court proceedings, Sierro-Pineda, aka "El Chocado," was a distributor for the Mexican drug cartel La Familia Michoacana. From November 2010 through February 2011, Sierro-Pineda imported into the United States from Mexico near-pure crystal methamphetamine, also known as ice. The defendant also cooked the methamphetamine in an informal superlab in his home in Duluth, Ga., court records show. A superlab is a laboratory capable of producing 10 or more pounds of methamphetamine in a single production cycle.
Court filings indicate that on Nov. 8, 2010, Sierro-Pineda attempted to import approximately 6.5 kilograms of ice into the United States using a courier. U.S. authorities seized the methamphetamine at the International Port of Entry in Laredo, Texas. Sierro-Pineda continued selling methamphetamine to customers in other states, including North Carolina, court records show.
On Feb. 25, 2011, law enforcement raided Sierro-Pineda's superlab in Duluth, seizing five gallons of liquid methamphetamine in the process of being converted to crystal methamphetamine. That volume of liquid methamphetamine could be converted into 20 pounds of methamphetamine. During the investigation, law enforcement also seized more than two additional pounds of methamphetamine and 20 firearms.
The investigation was conducted by HSI, NC SBI, the Rowan County Sheriff's Office, the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office and the Iredell County Sheriff's Office.
A Kirkland man was sentenced Friday, October 19, 2012, to 15 years in federal prison for his part in leading a transnational drug smuggling ring uncovered by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and member agencies of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).
Jacob Saul Stuart, 39, pleaded guilty in November 2011 to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to commit money laundering. DEA and HSI special agents, using court authorized wiretaps, determined Stuart's smuggling ring was transporting and distributing up to 2,000 pounds of marijuana and as much as 440 pounds of cocaine every month.
"This defendant tried to hide his international drug dealing while posing as a stay-at-home soccer dad," said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. "His lust for drug money disregarded the harm he spread throughout communities in the U.S. and Canada, and enriched a violent criminal gang."
The operation involved smuggling marijuana into the U.S. from Canada, where it was distributed across the country to California, Illinois, Missouri, Georgia and New Jersey, among other locations. Proceeds from the marijuana sales were then used to purchase cocaine in Southern California. The cocaine was delivered to members of the outlaw motorcycle gang Hells Angels in British Columbia for distribution in Canada.
"Stuart and his partners created an elaborate drug distribution scheme that not only benefited them, but also a violent Canadian crime syndicate," said Brad Bench, special agent in charge of HSI Seattle. "HSI is dedicated to working with law enforcement partners to disrupt transnational criminal organizations and bring to justice those who torment our communities with their criminal activities."
One of the telephone calls recorded in the case captured the defendant discussing the purchase of guns, bats and chemical sprays for Canadian members of the criminal ring who were traveling to Washington state to investigate the theft of more than 220 pounds of their cocaine. What Stuart did not know was that the drugs had actually been intercepted and seized by law enforcement.
In their remarks to the court, prosecutors highlighted Stuart's knowledge of his violent criminal associates saying: "Stuart knew – and apparently did not care – that he was working with a large Canadian organized crime group that was willing to use violence to further its ends. These facts call for a very lengthy sentence."
Over the course of the investigation, officials seized more than $2 million and 300 pounds of cocaine; and more than 2,200 pounds of marijuana from locations across the country.
Twelve people in U.S. and Canada have been charged in the case. Five have already been sentenced to prison, they include: Michael Murphy, a pilot who transported drugs, 12 years in prison; Jacob Burdick, who stored and organized transportation of the drugs, 12 years in prison; John Washington, a drug distributor for the group, 11 years in prison; Mario Joseph Fenianos, a Canadian who obtained and smuggled cocaine for the ring, 13 years in prison; and Michael William Dubois, another Canadian associated with the cocaine side of the smuggling scheme, 10 years in prison.
This multijurisdictional case involved: DEA Seattle, Chicago, Las Vegas, Fresno, Los Angeles and New Jersey; HSI Seattle and Sacramento; U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Air and Marine; the King County Sheriff's Office; the Seattle Police Department; the Washington State Patrol; the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force; and the California Bureau Of Narcotics Enforcement.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington.
