Twin brothers Pedro and Margarito Flores, regarded as
Chicago’s most significant drug traffickers who rose from street level dealers
to the highest echelons of the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel and a rival cartel
before they began providing unparalleled cooperation to the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA), were each sentenced today to 14 years in federal
prison. The sentencing marked the Flores
brothers’ first public court appearance since they entered protective federal
custody in 2008. Their August 2012
guilty pleas to a narcotics distribution conspiracy were unsealed in November
2014.
Also today, federal law enforcement officials announced the
unsealing of an expanded eighth superseding indictment in the case in which the
Flores brothers and leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel were initially indicted here
in 2009. The eighth superseding
indictment and three separate new indictments announced today, add significant
new defendants, including two alleged cartel money laundering associates who
were arrested in the United States and extend the government’s efforts in
Chicago and elsewhere to dismantle the Sinaloa Cartel under Joaquin Guzman
Loera, 60, also known as “Chapo,” and Ismael Zambada Garcia, 67, aka “Mayo.”
“The persistent determination of DEA special agents and
leadership in Chicago, coupled with the efforts of those in DEA offices
worldwide, is having a significant impact on the global operations of the
Sinaloa Cartel,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon of the Northern District
of Illinois. “This case put an end to
the Flores brothers’ Chicago hub for transshipment of cartel narcotics
nationwide. Our investigation and
prosecution of cartel members is continuing,”
“The extraordinary work in this investigation continues,”
said Special Agent in Charge Dennis A. Wichern of the Chicago Field Division of
the DEA. “Agents, investigators,
prosecutors and our worldwide law enforcement partners continue to expand this
investigation against members of the Sinaloa Cartel ― working to bring them to
justice and in doing so ― helping to make the great city of Chicago a safer
place.”
“IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to working together
with the DEA and the United States Attorney’s Office to fight the war on
drugs,” said Special Agent in Charge James C. Lee of the Internal Revenue
Service Criminal Investigation Division (IRS CI) in Chicago. “IRS CI brings, and will continue to bring,
its financial expertise to disrupt and dismantle the Sinaloa Cartel’s drug
trafficking organization.”
Flores Brothers Sentencing
In sentencing of the 33-year-old Flores brothers, U.S.
District Chief Judge Ruben Castillo said that but for the Flores brothers’
cooperation, he would have imposed a life sentence and noted that because of
the peril their ongoing cooperation poses to them and their families, they
effectively “are going to leave here with a life sentence.” If the city of Chicago had walls, Judge
Castillo said the brothers’ operation “devastated the walls of this city,”
adding that their operation “became just a highway of drugs into this city.”
But, Judge Castillo added, “it is never too late to
cooperate,” which is what earned the Flores brothers a significant discount in
their sentences.
Judge Castillo ordered the Flores brothers to forfeit more
than $3.66 million that was seized from them and a sport utility vehicle. In addition, more than $400,000 worth of
assorted jewelry, several luxury automobiles and smaller amounts of cash and
electronics equipment were seized and forfeited in administrative proceedings
by the DEA. The brothers left behind
millions of dollars in additional assets in Mexico after they began
cooperating.
The judge also placed each of the brothers on court
supervision for five years when they are released from prison after serving at
least 85 percent of their sentences.
Between 2005 and 2008, the Flores brothers and their crew
operated a Chicago-based wholesale distribution cell for the Sinaloa Cartel and
a rival drug trafficking organization controlled by Arturo Beltran Leyva,
receiving on average 1,500 to 2,000 kilograms of cocaine per month. Approximately half of this cocaine was
distributed to the Flores’ customers in the Chicago area, while the other half
was distributed to customers in Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit, Milwaukee, New
York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Vancouver, among other cities. In total, the brothers admitted to
facilitating the transfer of approximately $1.8 billion of drug proceeds from
the United States to Mexico, primarily through bulk cash smuggling.
At great personal risk to themselves and their families, the
Flores brothers began cooperating with the government in October 2008 and
recorded conversations, including two directly with Chapo Guzman. Their cooperation resulted in indictments
against leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Beltran Leyva organization, as
well as the complete dismantling of the brothers’ own Chicago-based criminal
enterprise. In late 2008 alone, their
cooperation facilitated approximately a dozen seizures in the Chicago area
totaling hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and heroin and more than $15 million
in cash, as well as the seizure of more than 1,600 kilograms of cocaine in the
Los Angeles area that was bound for Chicago.
Further cooperation by the Flores brothers and members of
their dismantled crew resulted in the convictions of more than a dozen of their
high-level customers who received on average 50 to 100 kilos of cocaine per
month.
“While not as high-profile as the cartel figures, the
successful prosecution of these defendants made a very real difference in
combating the scourge of drug trafficking that fuels so much violence and the
destruction of communities in Chicago,” said the prosecutors in recommending a
sentence at or near the low end of the agreed 10- to 16-year sentencing range.
“The Flores brothers (and their families) will live the rest
of their lives in danger of being killed in retribution,” prosecutors stated in
a sentencing memo. “The barbarism of the
cartels is legend, with a special place reserved for those who cooperate.”
In 2009, the brothers’ father was kidnapped and presumed
killed when he reentered Mexico despite the U.S. government warning him not to
do so.
The Primary ― Eighth Superseding ― Indictment
The eighth superseding indictment unsealed today charges a
total of nine defendants, including Chapo Guzman, Mayo Zambada and Guzman’s
son, Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, 31, aka “Alfredillo” and “Jags,” each of
whom was among the initial group of co-defendants in the original indictment in
2009. Zambada and Salazar are fugitives,
while Guzman remains in Mexican custody following his arrest last February.
Co-defendant, Jesus Raul Beltran Leon, 31, aka “Trevol” and
“Chuy Raul,” was arrested in Mexico this past November and remains in Mexican
custody. The remaining co-defendants,
all fugitives, Heriberto Zazueta Godoy, 54, aka “Capi Beto,” Victor Manuel
Felix Beltran, 27, aka “Lic Vicc,” Hector Miguel Valencia Ortega, 33, aka “Mv,”
Jorge Mario Valenzuela Verdugo, 32, aka “Choclos” and Guadalupe Fernandez
Valencia, 54, aka “Don Julio” and “Julia.”
This indictment alleges that all nine defendants conspired
between May 2005 and December 2014, when the indictment was returned under
seal, to import and distribute narcotics and to commit money laundering. They allegedly conspired to smuggle large
quantities of cocaine from Central and South America, as well as heroin,
methamphetamine and marijuana from Mexico to the United States and through
Chicago for distribution nationwide. The
indictment seeks forfeiture of $2 billion.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset
Control today announced the designation of Felix Beltran, who is Salazar’s
brother-in-law, pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act,
freezing all of his assets in the U.S. or in the control of U.S. persons and
generally prohibiting any U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with
him. A second designation was announced
today against Alfonso Limon Sanchez, an alleged Sinaloa Cartel associate under
federal indictment with Zambada and others in San Diego. Other alleged cartel leaders, including
Chicago defendants Guzman, Zambada, Salazar and Godoy, were previously
designated drug kingpins.
Charges brought in earlier versions of this primary
indictment remain pending against three additional co-defendants: Felipe
Cabrera Sarabia, 44, who is in custody in Mexico; German Olivares, age unknown
and a fugitive; and Edgar Manuel Valencia Ortega, 27, aka “Fox,” and Hector Miguel
Valencia Ortega’s brother, who was arrested last year in the United States and
is in federal custody in Chicago. His
next court date is Feb. 19, 2015 for a status hearing.
In addition to the Flores brothers, Alfredo Vasquez
Hernandez, 59, pleaded guilty and was sentenced last November to 22 years in
prison. Two other co-defendants, Mayo
Zambada’s son, Vicente Zambada Niebla, 39, and Tomas Arevalo Renteria, 45, have
pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing in Chicago. Altogether, 18 defendants have been charged
in the primary case in Chicago.
Three New Indictments
Those 18 are among a total of 62 defendants, most of whom
have been convicted and sentenced, who were indicted in nearly two dozen
related cases in Chicago since 2009. Two
new defendants, Alvaro Anguiano Hernandez, 38, aka “Panda,” and Jorge Martin
Torres, 38, were arrested separately in the U.S. in November and are facing
separate indictments here alleging they were high-level money laundering
associates of the Sinaloa Cartel and participated in money laundering
conspiracies. Anguiano Hernandez’s
indictment seeks forfeiture of $950,000.
Torres allegedly conspired to launder in excess of $300,000
of drug proceeds from Mexico to the United States to purchase, refurbish, and
transfer from Ohio to Mexico, a 1982 Cessna Turbo 210 to promote the cartel’s
alleged narcotics conspiracy. His
indictment seeks forfeiture of $1 million.
A third separate indictment announced today charges Venancio
Covarrubias, 26, aka “Benny,” of Elgin, who was arrested last October, with
being a high-level cartel customer in the Chicago area. In September 2013, law enforcement, including
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Laredo, Texas, seized 159
kilograms of cocaine that was allegedly destined for a warehouse in Elgin
leased by Covarrubias. The cocaine,
wrapped in 118 brick-shaped packages, was hidden in a tractor-trailer
containing a shipment of fresh tomatoes from a fictitious Mexican business
called Tadeo Produce. The charges allege
that during the prior year, Covarrubias wire transferred drug proceeds to Tadeo
Produce while receiving narcotics disguised as tomato shipments. His indictment seeks forfeiture of $2.89
million.
The money laundering conspiracy charges against Anguiano
Hernandez, Torres and Covarrubias carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in
prison, a $500,000 fine, or an alternate fine totaling twice the amount of the
funds involved in illegal activity. The
narcotics importation and distribution conspiracy charges against Covarrubias
and each defendant in the primary indictment carry a mandatory minimum sentence
of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison and a $10 million fine. If convicted, the court must impose a
reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States
sentencing guidelines. The defendants
against whom charges are pending are presumed innocent and are entitled to a
fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt.
Total Seizures Since 2008
Overall, the Chicago-based investigation of the Sinaloa
Cartel has resulted in seizures of approximately $30.8 million, approximately
11 tons of cocaine, 265 kilograms of methamphetamine and 78 kilograms of
heroin. Law Enforcement in Chicago has
worked closely with federal agents and prosecutors in San Diego to target the
senior leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel.
This partnership yielded the prosecutions here as well as 14 indictments
announced this month in San Diego against 60 alleged Sinaloa leaders,
lieutenants and associates, including Zambada, two of his four sons and another
of Guzman’s sons.
The investigation in Chicago has been led by the DEA, joined
by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and the Chicago Police
Department. Also assisting were DEA offices
worldwide, including in Los Angeles, San Diego, Mexico City and its El Paso
Intelligence Center, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force the
Chicago High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force, the U.S. Attorney’s
Offices in San Diego, Springfield, Illinois and Milwaukee and the Milwaukee
Police Department, the Chicago and Peoria offices of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the Chicago office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security
Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. State Department’s
Diplomatic Security Service, the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, suburban
police departments in Calumet City, Evergreen Park, Oak Park, Palos Heights and
the Beverly Hills Police Department. The
investigation was assisted by agents and analysts of the Justice Department
Criminal Division’s Special Operations Division, the attorneys from the
Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section and Office of
International Affairs.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S.
Attorneys Michael J. Ferrara, Erika Csicsila, Naana Frimpong, Georgia Alexakis,
Kathryn Malizia and Thomas D. Shakeshaft.
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