Cartel arrests show many who also run legitimate businesses

Valley Morning Star:

Others have a spattering of previous arrests on drug possession and money laundering charges.

Others appeared completely ordinary.

The 18 men and women from the Valley and Mexico who were arrested this week in a federal crackdown on the Gulf Cartel live very different lives. Some are connected by family and school ties, but according to federal prosecutors they are all woven into the multi-billion-dollar drug trafficking network.

Mario Mascorro and Jesus Fabiel Mendoza are two of the men listed in the same indictment, which was filed in McAllen.

Mascorro, 33, owns multiple businesses in Roma and Rio Grande City, including a Quiznos franchise. He also owns a one-fifth share in South Texas FM Investments, a group that includes Starr County Judge Eloy Vera and which owns several non-operational radio stations in north Texas and Oklahoma. He sits on the board of the county tax assessment district.

Fabiel-Mendoza is not a Valley resident, but a U.S. postal worker from near Houston. He has been a postal worker for 14 years, said his attorney, Dan B. Gerson of Houston. It is unclear whether he has ties to the Valley.

"He has a good job, solid family, no record," Gerson said.

There are also men like Ricardo Soto, 36, who owns several "legitimate businesses" in Roma, according to his attorney, Jesus Maria Alvarez, but also has several previous arrests.

A complaint filed in Duval County last year alleges that Soto was involved in two traffic stops, in 2004 and 2005, that uncovered large amounts of hidden cash.

Between two of the indictments filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office, around $8.3 million in alleged drug profits are at stake, according to prosecutors.

The indictments seek the forfeiture of money seized from various defendants.

...

The story suggest how the drug insurgents in Mexico have spread their corruption across the border. On this side of the border the indicted will be arrested. Whether the ones on the other side are captured is at best an open question. They will have to rebuild their organization though.

The Gulf Cartel has been the focus of numerous arrest in recent years including its leader who was extradited to the US for trial.

technorati tags:
political news | news | world news
More at: News 2 Cromley