U.S. Soldiers, Law Officers Snared in Border Drug Sting — If you read all the reports you find out that the smugglers brought in over half ton of cocaine valued at about $18 million. They are expected to pay a $1.5 million fine. The ones who pleaeded guilty were let out with no bail. And nobody thinks any of this is fishy? Welcome to the New America.
One federal inspector waved trucks he believed were carrying drugs across the border from Mexico to the U.S., according to the FBI. In another case, a group of the defendants used Army National Guard Humvees to transport 132 pounds of cocaine from a desert landing strip to a resort hotel in Phoenix, where they received cash from an undercover FBI agent.
Justice Department officials describe the case as a “widespread bribery and extortion conspiracy.” It is one of the largest public corruption cases along the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years.
The defendants “used their color of authority to prevent police stops, searches and seizures of narcotics as they drove the cocaine shipments on highways that passed through checkpoints,” the Justice Department said in a statement. The defendants pleaded guilty to transporting 1,232 pounds of cocaine and accepting $222,000 in cash for their activities.
The 16 defendants are or have been employed by a variety of agencies, including the U.S. Army, the Arizona Army National Guard, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, the Arizona Department of Corrections, the local police department in Nogales, Ariz., and the immigration and naturalization service.
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If these dudes only figured on $18 million for a half-ton, they must have been rank amateurs. Tell ’em to check in with Ollie North, next time.
There are many minorities doing serious time because heavy-duty drug dealers accused them in plea bargains. These drug dealers usually get less time then these peripheral people, some of whom had no knowledgeable involvement.
That a conspiracy involves Government employees doesn’t bother me, as there were enough conscionable law enforcement officials to thwart the operation. That their bail was so light and they face such short sentences bugs the hell out of me. If these 16 people were inner city blacks with 1/100 the quantity then I’m sure they would all be facing insurmountable bail and much longer sentences.
Why is half a ton so common? That is how much cocaine Vignali took to Minnesota in his arrest. This guy was in jail, but got pardoned by Clinton for about 100K.