DEA agent gets 12 years for conspiring with Colombian cartel

2 years ago 256

TAMPA, Fla. – A once-standout U.S. narcotics cause who utilized his badge to physique a lavish manner of costly cars, parties connected yachts and Tiffany jewels was sentenced to much than 12 years successful national situation Thursday for conspiring to launder wealth with a Colombian cartel.

But adjacent arsenic José Irizarry admitted to his crimes, helium blamed erstwhile colleagues astatine the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for fostering a civilization of corruption that desensitized him to the implications of violating the law.

“When my lawsuit joined the DEA helium was schooled successful however to beryllium corrupt, helium was schooled successful however to interruption the law," his attorney, María Dominguez, said successful court. “In this alternate beingness it became easier and little fishy to judge wealth and gifts" from transgression informants who worked with the U.S. premier narcotics agency.

U.S. District Court Judge Charlene Honeywell successful handing down her condemnation expressed disgust with the DEA for its failings and said different agents corrupted by “the allure of casual money” besides needed to beryllium investigated.

"This has to stop,” the justice said. “You were the 1 who got caught but it is evident to this tribunal that determination are others.”

The DEA declined to remark connected Irizarry's claims.

“Former Special Agent Irizarry abused the spot of the American radical erstwhile helium repeatedly violated his oath arsenic a national instrumentality enforcement officer,” Anne Milgram, the agency's caller administrator, said successful a statement. “Bringing him to justness reflects the principles of those who faithfully service and uphold the values of DEA.”

Irizarry’s allegations underscore the porous oversight helium received during his career, successful which helium was entrusted with the government’s usage of beforehand companies, ammunition slope accounts and couriers to combat planetary cause trafficking.

They besides rise caller questions astir whether his colleagues successful the Miami tract office, wherever Irizarry’s transgression enactment began, likewise abused the badge successful their handling of confidential informants who each twelvemonth determination tens of millions of dollars successful soiled wealth nether the DEA's supervision.

Dominguez successful tribunal filings revealed that since Irizarry's apprehension past twelvemonth helium has met with prosecutors for “endless hours” to supply accusation connected the transgression activities of “fellow law-enforcement agents who initiated him successful a beingness of crime.”

Honeywell precocious sealed “sensitive” documents filed successful the transgression case, saying making their disclosure could perchance impede an ongoing transgression investigation, origin targets to fly and hinder practice from different witnesses. So far, different than Irizarry's wife, Nathalia Gomez-Irizarry, and a Colombian customs worker, cipher other has been charged successful the conspiracy.

The U.S. Justice Department's Inspector General slammed the DEA successful a study implicit the summertime for failing to decently oversee what are expected to beryllium tightly monitored stings of the benignant Irizarry worked on. As a effect of the rebuke, which came connected the heels of a drawstring of scandals involving agents overseas, Milgram ordered an extracurricular reappraisal of the agency's overseas operations, which is ongoing.

The DEA has been shaken by repeated cases of misconduct successful caller years, including agents charged with ligament fraud, bribery and selling firearms to cause traffickers. Thursday’s proceeding came conscionable 4 months aft different longtime DEA agent, Chad Scott, was sentenced to much than 13 years down bars for stealing wealth from suspects, falsifying authorities records and committing perjury.

The DEA hired Irizarry, 47, and allowed him to grip delicate fiscal transactions adjacent aft helium failed a polygraph exam, declared bankruptcy and kept adjacent ties to a suspected wealth launderer who would spell connected to go the godfather of the agent's duplicate daughters with his Colombian wife.

He pleaded blameworthy past year to 19 national counts, including slope fraud, admitting helium parlayed his expertise successful wealth laundering into a beingness of luxury that prosecutors said was bankrolled by $9 cardinal helium and his co-conspirators diverted from undercover wealth laundering investigations.

The spoils included a $30,000 Tiffany diamond ringing for his wife, luxury sports cars and a $767,000 location successful the Caribbean edifice metropolis of Cartagena — connected apical of residences successful southbound Florida and Puerto Rico. Before helium resigned successful 2018, Irizarry’s ostentatious habits and tales of raucous yacht parties had go good known among DEA agents and prosecutors with whom they worked.

To further the scheme, prosecutors said, Irizarry filed mendacious reports and ordered DEA unit to ligament wealth slated for undercover stings to planetary accounts helium and associates controlled. The wealth should’ve been cautiously tracked by the DEA arsenic portion of undercover wealth laundering investigations, prosecutors said.

Irizarry has claimed the slope accounts successful question amounted to a profit-producing “slush fund” for authoritative and idiosyncratic question of national instrumentality enforcement, U.S. prosecutors and confidential sources.

Dominguez said Irizarry accepted afloat work for his actions but that his instrumentality of the conspiracy ne'er surpassed $600,000.

At Thursday's sentencing, Irizarry broke down successful tears arsenic helium addressed the court, saying the biggest punishment was not being capable to explicate to his 2 young daughters wherefore helium would beryllium going distant for truthful long. He said erstwhile helium became a national instrumentality enforcement cause 2 decades agone helium did truthful with a consciousness of large pride.

“Unfortunately, determination came a clip erstwhile I made a determination that went against the idiosyncratic who I was, that damaged my woman and embarrassed my country," helium said. “I should’ve known amended and I didn’t. I failed.”

Mustian reported from New Orleans.

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