SAN JUAN, P.R. – On Friday, December 7, 2018, four men
entered guilty pleas for their roles in the conspiracy to murder Lieutenant
Osvaldo Albarati-Casañas, a Federal Bureau of Prisons Correctional Officer,
announced United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia
Rodríguez-Vélez. Lieutenant Albarati was murdered on February 26, 2013.
On January 28, 2015 a Federal Grand Jury in the District of
Puerto Rico returned a six count indictment charging nine individuals for the
murder of Lieutenant Albarati: Ángel D. Ramos-Cruz, a.k.a. "Api;"
Miguel Díaz-Rivera, a.k.a. "Bolo;" Juan Quiñones-Meléndez, a.k.a.
"El Manco;" Orlando Mojica-Rodríguez, a.k.a. "Yogui;"
Jayson Rodríguez-González, a.k.a. "Gonzo;" and Alexander Rosario de
León, a.k.a. "Coquí". Defendants Carlos Rosado-Rosado, a.k.a.
"Cano;" and Jancarlos Velázquez-Vázquez, a.k.a. "Jan,"
pleaded guilty on August 13, 2018.
On December 7, 2018, Ángel D. Ramos-Cruz, Juan
Quiñones-Meléndez, Orlando Mojica-Rodríguez, and Jayson Rodríguez-González
entered pleas of guilty to the pending indictment. As part of the plea
agreement, the defendants acknowledged that they conspired to murder Lt.
Albarati as a direct result of continuous seizures of contraband by Albarati
and other correctional officers. At the time of the conspiracy, Ramos-Cruz was
an inmate at the facility and from inside MDC, he contacted an associate,
Quiñones-Meléndez, a.k.a. "El Manco", and requested that "El
Manco" recruit the triggermen to carry out the hit or "vuelta."
"Vuelta" which translates in English to
"turn" or "errand" was a term that the organizations of
Orlando Mojica-Rodríguez and Quiñones-Meléndez would use to describe a plan to
commit a murder. Quiñonez-Meléndez contacted his fellow associate Orlando
Mojica-Rodríguez a.k.a. "Yogui," to shore up resources and
triggermen. Quiñones-Meléndez recruited Carlos Rosado-Rosado, a.k.a.
"Cano" and Jayson Rodríguez-González, a.k.a. "Gonzo," to
participate in the murder of Lt. Albarati. Meanwhile, Mojica-Rodríguez
recruited Alexander Rosario de León, a.k.a. 2
"Coqui," as an additional enforcer to participate
in the murder. Rosado-Rosado and Rosario de León had previously entered guilty
pleas.
The murder of Lt. Albarati was carried out on February 26,
2013, as planned. Co-defendant, Oscar Martínez-Hernández was found guilty by a
jury on September 20, 2018, for his role in the conspiracy as well. His
sentence is scheduled for January 22, 2019.
"Throughout his law enforcement career, Lieutenant
Albarati’s service was exemplary, selfless and courageous," said United
States Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. "With this conviction we take
another step towards our goal of holding those who carried out this
reprehensible and senseless murder accountable for their actions. The
Department of Justice will continue to honor Lieutenant Albarati’s legacy as a
public servant, his dedication to safeguard the community, and his
integrity."
The murder of government employees and officials is a crime
punishable by death or imprisonment for any term of years or for life. Murder
for hire is a crime punishable by death or imprisonment for any terms of years
or for life. Use of a firearm resulting in death is also punishable by a
maximum term of life.
The case was investigated by the FBI with the collaboration
of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Miami Field
Office, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, DEA, ATF, the United States Marshals Service,
ICE-HSI, the Puerto Rico Police Department, the San Juan Municipal Police, and
other law enforcement agencies that covered hundreds of leads developed as a
result of the investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys
Nicholas W. Cannon and Max Pérez-Bouret.
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