May 29, 2008
For more information contact:
Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Dixie A. Morrow
(850) 444-4000
REMAINING GULF BREEZE “CANCUN’S RESTAURANT” DRUG TRAFFICKING DEFENDANTS
SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON
Pensacola, Florida - United States Attorney Gregory R. Miller, Northern District of Florida, announced today the sentencings of the remaining defendants indicted and convicted in the “Cancun’s Mexican Grill” case. Defendant Rogelio Galvan-Chavez, 35, of Gulf Breeze, Florida and owner of “Cancun’s Mexican Grill,” was sentenced on April 30, 2008 to life imprisonment following his conviction of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, conspiracy to use a communication facility to commit a felony, concealing, harboring and shielding illegal aliens for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain, and aiding and abetting the possession of a firearm by two illegal aliens. Yesterday, Jesus Rodriguez-Orosco, 34, of Pensacola, Florida, the “front man” for Galvan-Chavez’s operations, was sentenced to 200 months imprisonment for the drug trafficking conspiracy, communication facility conspiracy, possessing a firearm as an illegal alien, and illegal reentry into the United States following deportation. Cesar Madonado-Bazquez, also known as Humberto Madonado-Bajaras, also known as “Beto,” 29, of Pensacola, Florida, the operator of “Seven Mares Mexican Restaurant” where the co-defendants would meet to discuss their drug trafficking business, was sentenced to 136 months imprisonment for the drug trafficking conspiracy, possessing a firearm as an illegal alien, and illegal reentry into the United States following deportation. Local drug distributor Alejandro Hatem-Hernandez, 28, Pensacola, Florida was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment for the drug trafficking conspiracy, trafficking in fraudulent identification documents, possessing a firearm as an illegal alien, and illegal reentry into the United States following deportation. Antioco Cabrera-Esquivel, 34, of Pensacola, Florida was sentenced to 96 months imprisonment for the drug trafficking conspiracy, possessing fraudulent identification documents, possessing a firearm as an illegal alien, and illegal reentry into the United States following deportation. Rodriguez-Orosco, Madonado-Bazquez, Hatem-Hernandez, and Cabrera-Esquivel are all Mexican nationals unlawfully present in the United States, and will be deported following service of their prison terms.
Hatem-Hernandez entered guilty pleas. During a week long jury trial of Galvan-Chavez, Rodriguez-Orosco, Madonado-Bazquez, and Cabrera-Esquivel in February 2008, the United States proved that Galvan-Chavez led an organized crime group distributing large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine in the Panhandle of Florida. Galvan-Chavez obtained the drugs from a source of supply in Atlanta, Georgia, arranged for their transportation to the Florida Panhandle, and used several individuals to distribute the cocaine and methamphetamine in Northwest Florida. Galvan-Chavez owned and operated three “Cancun’s Mexican Grill” restaurants during the course of the conspiracy, and, on the date search warrants were executed at the restaurants, every single employee present was an illegal alien. Some of the drug and firearm transactions took place just outside the Gulf Breeze “Cancun’s Mexican Grill.”
U.S. Attorney Miller stated, “This investigation and prosecution dismantled a major interstate drug trafficking organization. The convictions and sentences could not have been achieved without the tireless, capable efforts of officers and agents of the Pensacola Police Department, Gulf Breeze Police Department, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, United States Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Marshals Service.” The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg