Federal Prison Terms Handed Down to Hondo- and Uvalde-Based Texas Mexican Mafia Members and Associates

United States Attorney Robert Pitman announced that in Del Rio this week, five Texas Mexican Mafia members were sentenced to lengthy federal prison terms for committing various federal racketeering offenses committed in Uvalde, Eagle Pass, Del Rio and the surrounding area.

On Wednesday, United States District Judge Alia Moses sentenced:

■33-year-old Juan Alfredo Gloria-Perales, of Eagle Pass, to 300 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. Judge Moses also ordered that Gloria-Perales pay a $10,000 fine. On November 10, 2010, Gloria-Perales pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) statute;

■32-year-old Orlando Guerrero, of Uvalde, to 180 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. Judge Moses also ordered that Guerrero pay a $10,000 fine. On February 3, 2010, Guerrero pleaded guilty to the RICO conspiracy charge;

■33-year-old Arturo Villarreal, of Eagle Pass, to 168 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. Judge Moses also ordered that Villarreal pay a $5,000 fine. On June 30, 2010, Villarreal pleaded guilty to the RICO conspiracy charge;

■21-year-old Ernesto Ramon, of Uvalde, to 121 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. Judge Moses also ordered that Ramon pay a $3,000 fine. On June 2 , 2010, Ramon pleaded guilty to the RICO conspiracy charge; and

■38-year-old Abel Melendrez, of Uvalde, to 121 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. Judge Moses also ordered that Melendrez pay a $3,000 fine. On April 7, 2010, Melendrez pleaded guilty to the RICO conspiracy charge.

Other co-defendants who have been sentenced after pleading guilty to the RICO conspiracy charge last year include:

■39-year-old Miguel Guerrero, of Uvalde, was sentenced on July 28, 2011, to 216 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $3,000 fine;

■41-year-old Francisco Corrales, of Uvalde, was sentenced on July 13, 2011, to 120 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine; and

■26-year-old Nicolas Alvarez, of Uvalde, was sentenced on September 6, 2011, to 84 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $3,000 fine.

Other co-defendants, all of whom face up to life in federal prison and are awaiting sentencing, include: 23-year-old Javier “Javi” Guerrero of Uvalde; 26-year-old Victor Esquivel of Eagle Pass; 23-year-old Jesse Joe Oranday of Hondo; and, 34-year-old Valdomero Hernandez, Jr., of San Antonio. Guerrero, Esquivel and Hernandez are scheduled to be sentenced on December 12, 2011. Sentencing has yet to be scheduled for Oranday.

Oranday and Hernandez pleaded guilty to the RICO conspiracy charge prior to trial. In July, a federal jury convicted Javier Guerrero and Victor Esquivel of conspiracy to violate the RICO statute. Testimony during trial revealed that Guerrero and Esquivel, together with 10 other individuals, conspired to conduct the affairs of the Texas Mexican Mafia through a pattern of racketeering activity, which included murder, solicitation of murder, drug trafficking, and extortion. The extortion took the form of coercive collection of a 10 percent drug tax, also known as “the dime,” from drug distributors known to the members of the criminal enterprise. Collection was enforced by robbery, serious bodily injury, or other acts of violence, including death.

Guerrero, who held a leadership position in the criminal organization, was also convicted of substantive charges of conspiracy and violent crime in aid of racketeering for the murders of Christopher Mendez in Concan, Texas, on December 6, 2006 and Jose Damian Garza in Hondo, Texas, on July 19, 2008. Esquivel was also convicted of conspiracy and violent crime in aid of racketeering for the murder of Garza.

The Texas Mexican Mafia was formed in the early 1980’s by inmates in the Texas prison system. Over the years, the gang has expanded its efforts to promote widespread criminal activity through extortion, narcotics trafficking, and violent crime. Also known as “La Eme” or “Mexikanemi,” the organization has been the subject of numerous federal indictments in the Western District of Texas since 1991. This investigation, however, is the first to directly target the gang’s machinery operating along the Texas-Mexico international border in the cities of Eagle Pass, Del Rio, Crystal City, Carrizo Springs, Uvalde, Sabinal, and Hondo.

This case resulted from a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Texas Department of Public Safety - Criminal Investigations Division, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Hondo Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety - Texas Rangers, Uvalde Police Department, and the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office.

Del Rio Sector Agents Seize $1.9 Million in Drugs Over Past Week

Smugglers charge $1,000 - $3,000 per alien

Del Rio, Texas – U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Del Rio Sector seized more than $1.9 million worth of drugs over the past week.

The most noteworthy case involved the seizure of 46.12 pounds of cocaine, with an estimated value of $1,475,840. On the afternoon of May 5, agents assigned to the Eagle Pass South Station located a vehicle matching the description of one being sought by local authorities. Agents stopped the vehicle, driven by an Eagle Pass woman, who was accompanied by her minor daughter. After a Border Patrol canine alerted to the vehicle, agents searched and discovered an after-market compartment in the floor. Inside the compartment, agents found 19 black-wrapped packages of cocaine. The woman, cocaine and vehicle were turned over to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The minor was released to a relative.

On May 5, Uvalde Station agents manning a highway checkpoint, discovered 68.8 pounds of marijuana, valued at $55,040, in the trunk of a 2002 Mercury Cougar. The driver, a 29-year-old Austin woman, was turned over to the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office, along with the marijuana and vehicle.

On May 6, agents assigned to the Del Rio Station discovered several sets of fresh footprints leading away from the Rio Grande River. With the assistance of a Border Patrol canine team, and helicopter support from the CBP Office of Air and Marine, agents apprehended four men – all Mexican citizens in the country illegally – and seized a total of 13 bundles of marijuana, containing 225 pounds of marijuana. The suspects, and marijuana – valued at $180,400, were turned over to DEA.

Also on May 6, agents from the Eagle Pass North Station found four large bundles of marijuana, weighing a total of 190.5 pounds, abandoned on an area ranch. The marijuana, estimated to be worth $152,400, was turned over to DEA.

On May 7, Del Rio Station agents, working at a highway checkpoint, found a suitcase full of marijuana while inspecting a northbound coach bus. The marijuana, weighing 58.8 pounds, valued at $47,040, was turned over to DEA.

Also, over the past week, agents throughout the Del Rio Sector discovered seven cases of alien smuggling, apprehending 26 illegal aliens and six alien smugglers. Smuggling fees in the various cases ranged from $1,000 to $3,000 per person.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.