Sinaloa Cartel Member Found Guilty of Drug Trafficking Conspiracy - Four Others Plead Guilty

Rafael Humberto Celaya Valenzuela, 41, formerly of Sonora, Mexico, was convicted following a jury trial of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

Celaya Valenzuela and his co-conspirators were members of the Sinaloa drug cartel, led by represented the Sinaloa Cartel, led by the notorious drug lord Joaquin Guzman-Loera, also known as “Chapo.”  The cartel was seeking new cocaine distribution routes from South America to Europe, Canada and the United States.  Beginning in early 2010 and continuing through August 2012, undercover FBI agents posing as members of a European organized crime syndicate met with the cartel representatives.  Many of the meetings were audio and video recorded and portions of those recordings were played for the jury.  The recordings showed Celaya Valenzuela and several co-conspirators attending meetings in Miami, Boston, Madrid, Spain, and in Portsmouth and New Castle, New Hampshire.

Celaya Valenzuela held himself out as an attorney and financial planner working on behalf of Chapo and the cartel.  Manuel Gutierrez Guzman, a co-conspirator and first cousin of Chapo, held himself out as his cousin’s representative in the negotiations.  The cartel representatives offered to deliver thousands of kilograms of cocaine by containerized cargo vessels to various ports on the northeastern seaboard of the United States and in Europe.  They further represented that the cocaine would come from any number of source countries, including Bolivia, Panama, Belize and Colómbia.  The deal was consummated by a face-to-face meeting with Chapo and several telephone calls in which he himself discussed details of the intended shipments.

On July 27, 2012, the conspirators delivered 346 kilograms of cocaine, more than 750 pounds worth millions of dollars, to a port in Algeciras, Spain.  The cocaine was shipped via cargo container in boxes that purportedly held glassware.  The FBI seized the cocaine, and Celaya Valenzuela, Gutierrez Guzman, Samuel Zazueta Valenzuela and Jesus Palazuelos Soto were arrested by Spanish law enforcement in Madrid on Aug. 7, 2012.  The defendants were then extradited to New Hampshire.

Manuel Gutierrez Guzman, Samuel Zazueta Valenzuela and Jesus Palazuelos Soto pleaded guilty before trial.  A sentencing hearing for Soto is scheduled for Dec. 22, 2014.  Sentencing hearings for Manuel Gutierrez Guzman and Samuel Zazueta Valenzuela are scheduled for Jan. 15, 2015.  Celaya Valenzuela’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2015.  All the defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The cartel’s leader, Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman-Loera, was arrested by Mexican authorities in February 2014.  He is under indictment in multiple jurisdictions in the United States, including the District of New Hampshire.

“Today’s guilty verdict, together with the guilty pleas of the defendant’s co-conspirators, demonstrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to disrupting and dismantling international drug trafficking organizations wherever they seek to peddle their poison,” said U.S. Attorney Kacavas.  “Whether along our southwest border, in major American cities, or in bucolic New Hampshire, we will use every law enforcement and prosecutorial tool at our disposal to bring international drug traffickers to justice.  I want to thank our federal law enforcement partners, especially the FBI agents who went undercover at significant risk to their personal safety, and the Spanish National Police for their assistance in foiling this far-reaching scheme.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance with the extradition.  The case was prosecuted by First Assistant United States Attorney Don Feith.

Acting Associate Attorney General Delery Delivers Remarks at Making Cities Safe Through Community Policing, an Event of the U.S. Conference of Mayors

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Thank you, President [Mayor Kevin] Johnson, for that kind introduction – I’m very pleased to join you here today in my role as the Acting Associate Attorney General.  We have a funny way in Washington of giving titles that are puzzling to people, but you all are quite lucky because everyone knows what a mayor or a police chief does!  For those who don’t know, as the Acting Associate, I am the third-ranking official at the department and I oversee the department’s Community Oriented Police Services Office (COPS), civil litigating divisions and other grant-making components, which cumulatively address a broad array of issues, including federal and local law enforcement, and public safety.

I’m relatively new to the position of Associate Attorney General, but have been with the Department of Justice since 2009.  But the key point is that the department is not new to the issues that you face every day.  I’ve had the pleasure over these years to work not only with Attorney General Holder, who we are very sad to see go, but also now to work with COPS Director Ron Davis.  I want to personally thank Attorney General Holder for leading us at the department for the last six years and for his exemplary leadership.  I also want to acknowledge Director Davis for his excellent and tireless work as well.  Both of them share a passion for civil rights, as evidenced by their work in Ferguson and other places around the country to ensure that law enforcement is engaging in constitutional policing and always working to establish trust among the citizens they serve.

I also want to thank Mayor [Mark] Stodola for hosting us here in Little Rock and being instrumental in making this celebration possible today.  I use the word “celebration” because we truly need to celebrate the accomplishments of the COPS Office over the last 20 years, some of which the Attorney General described earlier.  Those accomplishments have had a direct impact on this state and this community: in those two decades, the state of Arkansas has received more than $127 million in COPS Office funding, with nearly $23 million of that awarded since 2009.

I would like to further recognize the strong leadership role the United States Conference of Mayors has demonstrated in the wake of the events in Ferguson, Missouri.  I think the hallmark of great leadership was aptly expressed by former first lady Rosalynn Carter who once said that, “A leader takes people where they want to go.  A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.”  The powerful joint statement issued on August 15, 2014, by Mayors Johnson, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Annise Parker, William Bell, Michael Nutter and Francis Slay on behalf of this organization exemplifies a commitment to standing for what is right even when it is not easy.  By pledging to work with member mayors and police chiefs to “identify[y] policy recommendations to address the root causes of the problems that contributed to the tragic events in Ferguson and to identify actions that can be taken in our cities and by our federal government to avoid catastrophic consequences in the future,” the Conference of Mayors signaled that it is ready to take up the difficult task of ensuring that our communities take the opportunity to grow through the response to tragedy, rather than allowing tragedy to drag them backwards.  We at the Department of Justice share that commitment, and are eager to work with you to identify best practices in policing and make them a reality.

Our commitment to supporting your efforts in your cities and towns to improve the relationship between police forces and the communities they serve is personified by Director Davis and his colleagues at the COPS Office, who are dedicated to advancing public safety through community policing.  The Crime Bill was passed in 1994.  At that time, people most often thought of community policing as simply bike patrols or police athletic leagues.  In fact, community policing is so much more than a program or line item in a budget – it’s a philosophy of how a police department should do business. 

Community policing should be woven into the fabric of how a police department handles everything, from its recruitment to its response to calls for service.  Many agencies represented here today know what it means to truly embrace community policing and view it not as something merely measured by the number of officers on the beat, but rather what officers are doing on that beat to improve the quality of life of the citizens they serve and investigate the root causes of crime.

That’s why I’m so honored to be here with you today to mark the 20th anniversary of the Crime Bill and acknowledge the amazing work that has come from the COPS Office since its inception in 1994.

As Attorney General Holder mentioned earlier this morning, the COPS Office brings much more to the table than just the hiring of officers.  It has an expansive portfolio of training and technical assistance initiatives that benefit not just those agencies that receive grants; the entire law enforcement field can take advantage of those resources.

And the COPS program has helped to lead real change over the past 20 years.  When the COPS Office was first established, the number of law enforcement agencies in the country estimated to be practicing community policing numbered in the hundreds.  By 1997, the self-reported number had swelled to 9,000.  And now, the vast majority of police departments across the country trains their officers in and employs a wide variety of community policing practices.  You’ve already heard much today about the widespread success of community policing and the vast progress made by the law enforcement field in embracing this philosophy.

But at this anniversary, in the face of such success, some have posed the question – if community policing is no longer a new or groundbreaking idea for law enforcement, and if it’s a well-established part of the daily operations of most policing agencies, then what can communities around the country gain from continuing to work with the COPS Office in this decade and beyond?

And the answer is that, as far as the field has advanced in this area, there’s still much work to be done in institutionalizing community policing so that partnerships and collaboration and analytical problem-solving aren’t just a set of specific programs within a law enforcement agency, but rather guiding principles that define and run through everything the agency does.  Community policing represents a proven and effective public service model well-suited for both the demands of 21st century public safety and the challenges facing American law enforcement.

And this is why the resources the COPS Office provides – resources above and beyond just the grant dollars – are so vitally important.  Innovators are at work in law enforcement agencies all across the country – ranging from using new technologies to allow officers to be more effective at solving problems, to increasing accountability and responsiveness to the community, to looking at the power of non-traditional partnerships.

Over the course of these two days, you will hear about many opportunities for partnerships and innovation and collaboration to flourish within the area of community policing.  I’d like to take a few moments to focus on just one aspect: building trust between law enforcement and the public and enhancing police-community relations.  The COPS Office has long been at the forefront of such efforts, and as just one recent illustration of this important work, this past April the COPS Office hosted a forum on “Strengthening the Relationship between Law Enforcement and Communities of Color” in New York City.  The forum gave local, state, and federal law enforcement, as well as community leaders and other criminal justice stakeholders, the opportunity to identify ways law enforcement can build trust in all of our communities.  The event brought together police chiefs, community activists, civil rights organizations, and civic leaders from across the country to discuss effective strategies and what challenges these leaders have faced, such as, the NYPD’s thoughtful response in re-evaluating its crime prevention strategies in the face of concerns raised regarding its “stop and frisk policies.”  .  The New York City Forum will be followed by a publication highlighting the ways that law enforcement and community leaders found to come together to strengthen the communities they serve.

And at that forum, my predecessor announced a major new Department of Justice initiative aimed at enhancing public safety by strengthening relationships between law enforcement and communities – $4.75 million committed to establish the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice.  This initiative – which will be jointly supported by the COPS Office and the Office of Justice Programs, Civil Rights Division, Office on Violence Against Women and Community Relations Service – will expand our base of knowledge about what works to improve procedural fairness, reduce bias, and promote racial reconciliation in the field of law enforcement.  It will help communities address the challenges arising from suspicion, distrust, and lack of confidence in our law enforcement agencies.

This effort will encompass a broad range of areas in which fairness and trust are implicated – from stops and searches to wrongful convictions.  A team of cross-disciplinary experts will fuel the initiative by conducting research, piloting and testing innovative ideas, developing models for rigorous evaluation, and disseminating the latest research and best practices to the field.  And our U.S. Attorneys will lead coordination efforts with five pilot sites that will implement and test strategies focused on procedural justice, implicit bias, and racial reconciliation.  The solutions we find together will be backed by sound evidence-based practices but they will also look at the lessons learned by one agency to provide information and insight on effective and innovative practices for each and every law enforcement agency in the country.

The initiative will engage an array of criminal and juvenile justice agencies, including law enforcement, probation, parole, and the courts, as well as community stakeholders, like faith-based groups and victim service organizations.  Our goal is to build on the pioneering work already underway in some of America’s most challenged areas and to open doors of cooperation that will ultimately lead to safer and healthier communities – the concept that’s at the very core of the philosophy of community policing.  And this is why the COPS Office continues to be relevant and vital to the field today, 20 years after inception – because as far as we’ve come, there’s still so much we can accomplish working together to improve public safety.

Before I close, I again want to say thank you to Director Davis for his work leading the COPS Office.

And to the mayors and police chiefs who have gathered here to recognize how far we’ve come in the last 20 years and discuss where community policing is going for the next 20 years and beyond, thank you for your leadership.  As I said earlier, everyone knows what a mayor and police chief does, and your work on behalf of your cities is truly remarkable.  You recognized the importance of a federal investment in public safety when you came together to advocate on behalf of the Crime Bill 20 years ago, and I can’t think of a better group of people to gather and discuss the next evolution of community policing.  You can be confident that the Department of Justice will stand with you as you work to keep your communities safe.  Thank you for what you do, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to be here with you today.  I look forward to working with you in the weeks and months to come.

Former Puerto Rico Officer and Civilian Plead Guilty for July 2012 Robbery in Puerto Rico

A former Police of Puerto Rico (POPR) sergeant and a civilian have pleaded guilty for their involvement in a July 2012 robbery in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and an additional POPR officer has pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico.

Jorge Fernandez-Aviles, 49, a POPR sergeant, pleaded guilty today to robbery and firearms charges for his role in a July 2012 robbery in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.   On Oct. 3, 2014, David Figueroa, 32, a civilian, pleaded guilty to robbery and civil rights charges for his involvement in the robbery. 

Alexander Mir-Hernandez, 40, a POPR officer, also pleaded guilty on Oct. 3, 2014, to one count of false statements for lying to federal agents about his role in the July 2012 robbery and to a civil rights crime for an unrelated December 2013 robbery.  Sentencing for all three is scheduled for Jan. 9, 2015.
Pedro Lopez-Torres, 35, and Luis Ramos-Figueroa, 38, were each POPR officers and were charged by information on June 25, 2014, for their roles in the July 2012 robbery and other crimes.  Lopez and Torres pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge José A. Fusté the same day.  Fernando Reyes-Rojas, a civilian, has been indicted for robbery, drug, and firearms charges for his involvement in the July 2012 robbery.  Reyes-Rojas is scheduled for trial on Nov. 3, 2014.

According to court documents, on July 14, 2012, Sergeant Fernandez-Aviles and Officers Lopez-Torres and Ramos-Figueroa, armed with their POPR weapons, went with Figueroa, Ramos-Figueroa’s cousin, to the airport, where they picked up a marked patrol car from Officer Mir before a planned home robbery.  They drove the patrol car to meet Reyes-Rojas and then went together to the location of the robbery. 

Upon entering the house, the officers identified themselves as police, falsely claimed they were executing a search warrant, and ordered several individuals in the garage to the ground and searched for weapons.   While Figueroa watched the occupants, Sergeant Fernandez, Officer Lopez-Torres, Officer Ramos-Figueroa, and Reyes-Rojas searched the property, and Reyes-Rojas found cocaine in a shed in the backyard.  A few days later, Reyes-Rojas met with Lopez-Torres and gave him money from the proceeds of the sale of the cocaine he took on the day of the robbery.  Officer Lopez-Torres split the money with Sergeant Fernandez-Aviles and Officer Ramos-Figueroa.

In June 2014, Officer Mir was interviewed by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and falsely claimed that he did not recognize a photograph of Officer Lopez-Torres; that he had not met with Officer Lopez-Torres in more than six months; and that he did not provide the patrol car that was used to commit the July 2012 robbery.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s San Juan Division and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Heidi Boutros Gesch of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mariana Bauza of the District of Puerto Rico

Department of Justice Charges Six Defendants in Connection with Violent Sex Trafficking Scheme

The Department of Justice announced today a second superseding indictment in a sex trafficking conspiracy charging six individuals for offenses related to their involvement in sex trafficking adult victims in New Orleans and elsewhere.  Five defendants, Granville Robinson, aka “Bear” and “HB,” 25; Duane Phillips, aka “P-nut,” 28; Anthony Ellis, aka “Anthony Deshun Lloyd,” “Animal,” and “AD,” 25; Christopher Williams, aka “Gutter,” 29; and LaQuentin Brown, aka “Nino,” 32, all of Memphis, Tennessee, were charged with conspiring to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion.  A sixth defendant, Kanubhai Patel, aka “Mr. Kenny” and “Pop,” 73, of Kenner, Louisiana, was indicted for benefitting financially from participating in a sex trafficking venture.  

According to the indictment, from January 2013, until Jan. 15, 2014, Robinson, Phillips, Ellis, Williams and Brown conspired to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, obtain and maintain multiple adult women for prostitution, using force, threats of force, fraud and coercion to cause them to engage in commercial sex acts in New Orleans and elsewhere.  In addition to being charged with sex trafficking conspiracy, defendants Robinson, Phillips and Williams are each charged with additional counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and with transporting women in interstate commerce for the purpose of prostitution.

If convicted of sex trafficking conspiracy, defendants Robinson, Phillips, Ellis, Williams and Brown each face a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release.  If convicted of transportation for prostitution, Robinson, Phillips and Williams each face a statutory maximum of ten years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.
If convicted of benefitting financially from participation in a sex trafficking venture, Patel faces a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release.

A seventh defendant who was previously charged in connection with the case, Zacchaeus Taylor, aka “Little Z,” “Little Zay,” and “Little 5,” 21, also of Memphis Tennessee, pleaded guilty on June 25, 2014, to sex trafficking, conspiring and transporting women across state lines for prostitution.  He is currently awaiting sentencing.

An indictment is merely a charge and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated jointly by agents from the New Orleans Field Offices of the FBI and ICE Homeland Security Investigations as well as the FBI’s Memphis Field Office.  This case is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel John Cotton Richmond and Trial Attorney Christine M. Siscaretti of the Civil Right Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, and Assistant United States Attorney Julia K. Evans of the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Colombian Traffickers Plead Guilty to International Maritime Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

Three Colombian citizens pleaded guilty today for conspiring to transport more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine on board “go-fast boats” from the north coast of Colombia into international waters on vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Administrator Michele M. Leonhart of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made the announcement.

Angel Javier Varon Castro, 43; Luis Delio Herrera Astudillo, 45; and Eusebio David Webster Archbold, 33, all Colombian nationals, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell of the District of Columbia to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possess with intent to distribute cocaine on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.  Sentencing is set for Jan. 9, 2015.

“Today’s guilty pleas highlight our successful and vigorous partnership with Colombian law enforcement as we work to halt the flow of drugs heading north from the coast of Colombia,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “These defendants and their drug trafficking partners used seagoing vessels to inject vast quantities of cocaine into international commerce.  But while drug traffickers may believe they can operate on the high seas with impunity, today’s convictions prove otherwise.  Working with our international partners, we will bring to justice those who would flood our ports and, ultimately, our communities with dangerous narcotics.”

“The arrests and guilty pleas of these three international drug smugglers are the direct result of the resolute partnership between the DEA and our Colombian law enforcement partners,” said DEA Administrator Leonhart.  “This is another example of the fine work that DEA, prosecutors, and our partners around the globe accomplish every day.”

According to their plea agreements, the defendants worked for a drug-trafficking organization responsible for transporting cocaine aboard go-fast vessels leaving from the area of Cartagena, Colombia, to Central America, and traveling in international waters on vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.  During the investigation, pursuant to Colombian judicial authority, law enforcement recorded the defendants’ telephone conversations in which they planned the operation, including the use of two 40-foot go-fast vessels.  These boats were later intercepted in February and April 2010 in international waters by the United States Coast Guard.  Go-fast vessels are specially equipped speed boats designed to transport large quantities of narcotics.    

This Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) case, called Operation Pacific Empire, is being investigated by DEA’s Cartagena Country Office, assisted by DEA’s offices in Miami and Puerto Rico.  The Cartagena office worked in partnership with the Judicial Police of the Prosecutor General’s Office in Colombia (CTI) and the Colombian National Police. 

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Meredith Mills, Brad Price and Paul Laymon of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, with significant assistance from the Judicial Attachés in Bogotá, Colombia, the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, and the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Colombia.