Free Republic

One of the world’s most-wanted drug traffickers owns an unsuspecting ranch in a Riverside County valley — and the federal government is trying to seize it. Juan Carlos Valencia Gonzalez, 41, of Santa Ana, is the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, nearly five months after his stepfather, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, was killed during a Mexican military anti-drug operation. When Valencia was just a 26-year-old living in Orange County, he bought a ranch in Hemet, California, that was offered to him for just $250,000. The property sits in a ranching community surrounded by farmland and upscale homes, according...

Ordered to Pay Over $2.3M in Money JudgmentsA Texas woman and man were sentenced to 121 months and 135 months in prison and ordered to pay money judgments of $942,537.00 and $438,119.00, respectively, this week for their roles as the leaders of a human smuggling organization (HSO) that conspired to illegally transport, harbor, and conceal from law enforcement hundreds of undocumented individuals in the United States and launder the proceeds of their illicit human smuggling.“The two defendants sentenced in this case were leaders of a human smuggling operation that endangered vulnerable migrants for profit,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland....

NOTE The following text is a quote: MS-13 Driver in 2007 Murder in Springfield Sentenced to Life in Prison ALEXANDRIA, VA—Carlos Bladimir Montoya, also known as "Ciego," 26, of Sterling, Va., was sentenced today to life plus a consecutive 120 months in prison for his role in the murder of a rival gang member on May 5, 2007. Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office; and Colonel David Rohrer, Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District...