Posted on 05/13/2005 3:58:16 PM PDT by CharlieChan
FBI Sting in Southern Arizona May 13, 2005, 2:17 AM KOLD News 13 Staff
Sixteen current and former U.S. soldiers and law enforcement officers have agreed to plead guilty to participating in a widespread bribery and extortion conspiracy. Five airmen stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base are also implicated and will be handled by military courts.
The criminal charges against the defendants arise from Operation Lively Green, an FBI undercover corruption investigation that began in December 2001.
In documents filed today in Tucson, the sixteen defendants charged in federal court agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to enrich themselves by obtaining cash bribes from persons they believed to be narcotics traffickers. Those individuals were actually Special Agents from the FBI, and agents say the defendants used their official positions to assist, protect and participate in the activities of what they believed was an illegal narcotics trafficking organization engaged in the business of transporting and distributing cocaine from Arizona to other locations in the southwestern United States.
In order to protect the shipments of cocaine, the defendants wore their official uniforms and carried their official forms of identification, used official vehicles, and used their color of authority, where necessary, to prevent police stops, searches, and seizures of the narcotics as they drove the cocaine shipments on highways that passed through checkpoints manned by the U.S. Border Patrol, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and Nevada law enforcement officers. Many of the defendants also accepted additional cash bribes in return for recruiting other public officials they believed to be corrupt to further facilitate the activities of the fictitious narcotics trafficking organization.
According to court documents, all of the defendants escorted at least two shipments of cocaine from locations such as Nogales, Arizona and Tucson, Arizona to destinations which included Phoenix and Las Vegas, Nevada. The defendants pleading guilty today transported a total of over 560 kilograms of cocaine and accepted over $222,000 in cash bribes as payment for their illegal activities.
In one instance, on Aug. 22, 2002, several of the defendants drove three official government vehicles, including two military Humvees assigned to the Arizona Army National Guard (AANG), to a clandestine desert airstrip near Benson, Arizona, where they met with a twin-engine King Air aircraft flown by undercover agents of the FBI. Those defendants, while in full uniform, supervised the unloading of approximately 60 kilograms of cocaine from the King Air into their vehicles. They then drove the cocaine to a resort hotel in Phoenix where they were met by another undercover agent of the FBI, posing as a high-echelon narcotics trafficker, who immediately paid them off in cash.
In another instance, on April 12, 2002, defendant John M. Castillo, 30, while on duty as an inspector for the INS at the Mariposa Port of Entry located on the U.S. border at Nogales, Arizona, twice waved a truck he believed to be carrying at least 40 kilograms of cocaine through the border without being inspected. On or about Aug. 1, 2002, Castillo also sold an undercover FBI agent INS documents which fraudulently provided for the entry of undocumented aliens into the United States.
In addition to Castillo, the defendants who have agreed to plead guilty are:
* Robert L. Bakerx, 43, a Sergeant in the Arizona Air National Guard; * David M. Bustamante, 35, formerly a corrections officer with the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADOC); * Joel P. Bustamante, 33, formerly a corrections officer with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons; * Jorge A. Calzadillas, 22, a private first class in the AANG; * Demian F. Castillo, 33, a specialist first class with the AANG; * Mark A. Fillman, 55, formerly a specialist first class with the AANG; * Jimmy L. Ford, Jr., 29, formerly a corrections officer with the ADOC; * Guillermo German, 36, formerly a corrections officer with the ADOC; * Angel S. Hernandez, 31, formerly a sergeant in the United States Army; * Moises Hernandez, 21, a Private in the AANG; * Leslie B. Hidalgo, 24, a Private First Class in the AANG; * John F. Manje, 36, formerly a sergeant in the AANG and formerly a corrections officer with the ADOC; * Gladys C. Sanchez, 24, formerly a corrections officer with the ADOC; * Angel M. Soto, 41, formerly a corrections officer with the ADOC; * Phillip Varona, 22, formerly an officer with the Nogales, Arizona Police Department.
The Davis-Monthan Airmen charged in the sting:
* Staff Sgt. Vincent U. Kerley, 355 Aerospace Medicine Squadrom * Senior Airman Jareese V. Jones, 355 Security Forces * Tech. Sgt. Michael J. Dahl, 12th Air Force * Senior Airman Manuela D.C. Scott, 355 Mission Support Squadron * Airman First Class Adrian R. Watson, 355 Logistics Readiness Squadron
"Now more than ever, it is critically important that those on the front lines of our nation's borders remain uncorrupted," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Richter. "A corrupted border creates a grave threat to the national security of this country. We will continue to work to ensure that those employed to protect our homeland do not sell their offices and badges to the highest bidder."
"The actions of those charged in this investigation should not reflect upon the integrity of the agencies that once employed them, nor should it be a reflection upon the honorable men and women who continue to serve within their ranks," said Special Agent-in-Charge Monroe. "We also want to commend these agencies for their partnership as they remained focus on their mission to serve and protect the American public."
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Each defendant has agreed to cooperate in this ongoing investigation.
Important Fact: You do not have to be a legal American citizen to join the military.
Who wants to bet this is how the Marxists are taking over our country - destroying us from within using our own bureacracy to do it.
I am so disappointed in FReepers.
This should be a huge story, and we are allowing it to get buried. It shows remarkable work by the good guys.
Well, they all have the same "family values."
My first thought looking at the names.
How long will it take befor the ACLU clowns start screaming 'racial profiling?'
Remind you of the websites with the 40 Goals of Communism?
Have to round 'em up again, first. They've all been ROR'd. And did you check out their potential penalty? Maximum of 5 years (if that). Congress is now considering a Bill that would stipulate a MANDATORY 5 year sentence for anyone passing a joint to someone who's been in drug rehab. Half a ton of cocaine, one joint. Glad to see we have our priorities stratight.
Would it be racist to comment at this time on the perp's race??
"I am so disappointed in FReepers.
This should be a huge story, and we are allowing it to get buried. It shows remarkable work by the good guys.
I just kicked it out to all "Shared Contacts" in email address folder.
You may appreciate this sting (involved using USAF and USA smuggling drugs and fake documents in the line of duty).
==================
The Davis-Monthan Airmen charged in the sting:
* Staff Sgt. Vincent U. Kerley, 355 Aerospace Medicine Squadrom * Senior Airman Jareese V. Jones, 355 Security Forces * Tech. Sgt. Michael J. Dahl, 12th Air Force * Senior Airman Manuela D.C. Scott, 355 Mission Support Squadron * Airman First Class Adrian R. Watson, 355 Logistics Readiness Squadron
Thanks for the ping. Maybe they will go under the jail. It is no telling what and who they have aided crossing the border.
expat.... i was so freaking depressed yesterday over all this crud. it really gets to me when i can see no silver lining.. just traitorous bs day after day after day.
i'm a law abiding good Christian gal, but yesterday i just had to go down to the local tavern and have a few. our country is gowing to heck in a hand basket... and i don't what the heck to do. i have been purchasing new "toys that go bang" and the little shiny things you put in them like crazy though... and making them go "bang" makes me feel better.. : ) the cold brews didn't hurt either..
i'm at a loss.. we need a Patrick Henry.
i'll say it - most of them look Hispanic and/or have Hispanic names.
who'd a thunk it? my Marine knows some non citizen Marines... quite a few. he doesn't like it. some a great guys... but he wants to know why our government is hiring foreign mercenaries in the Marine Corp and other Military branches. i think that is a dang fair question.
It damn near kills me to say it but the F&BI did good.
understood. and should have been more clear. some of his best buddies are non citizens. and he said what you just did... that many he respects for their love of this Country and have earned that with blood shed in some cases.. or the willingness to do so. one of his favorites CO's is a fiery ex-Cuban.
but.... he worries a lot about some who bring baggage.. they are almost gang like in their ways.. tattoos(not Marine).. no respect... lack of discipline.. and this new thing he has witnessed... "us against them". "them" being the gung ho, pro-American Marines- especially the caucasians. maybe this is a new problem? it makes him ... uncomfortable, like he and other Marines have to watch their backs.
i'll give you a hint - he's stationed at Pendleton and these non-citizens speak mainly Spanish..
makes me wonder..
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