01-26-06 -- Reyeros, Jorge et al. -- Sentencing -- News Release
Former Customs Agent and Brother Sentenced to Long Prison Terms for Conspiring to Traffic Cocaine from Colombia
NEWARK – A former U.S. Customs Service supervisory inspector and his brother were sentenced today to more than 24 years and more than 19 years in prison, respectively, for their roles in a drug importation conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.
Both defendants – former Customs supervisory inspector Jorge Reyeros, 54, and Juan Reyeros, 56 – were convicted by a jury on Jan. 7, 2005, of conspiring to import 150 kilograms or more of cocaine into the United States in 1999. The jury also convicted Jorge Reyeros of accessing without authorization and exceeding his authorized access to a United States Customs Service computer on or about April 12, 1999, and Juan Reyeros of aiding and abetting that access.
U.S. District Judge William G. Bassler sentenced Jorge Reyeros to 292 months in prison and Juan Reyeros to 235 months in prison. There is no parole in the federal system, and defendants serving custodial sentences must serve nearly all that time.
“This conduct was an abomination, particularly from a federal law officer sworn to protect the United States and the integrity of our borders,” said Christie. “The very long sentences imposed on the Reyeros brothers match the magnitude and seriousness of their crimes.”
Defense attorneys were seeking a far lower sentence. They dropped that effort, however, shortly before today’s hearing as the government was preparing to present testimony from co-defendant Hernan Uribe, a/k/a “Nacho,” 48, of Medellin, Colombia. Uribe would have testified that the Reyeros brothers had imported tens of thousands of kilograms of cocaine before the charged conspiracy.
The Reyeros brothers were indicted on Dec. 21, 2000, for accessing a Customs computer without authorization and exceeding Jorge Reyeros’ authorized access to a Customs computer. On June 28, 2001, together with co-defendants Uribe and Rafael Garavito-Garcia, they were charged in a Superseding Indictment with conspiring to import cocaine into the United States in 1999. In addition, Jorge Reyeros was charged with participation in a separate 1997 conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, as well as three counts of accessing without authorization and exceeding his authorized access to a United States Customs Service computer in 1997.
The jury was selected on Sept. 28 and 29, 2004, and testimony began on Oct. 21, 2004. The jury deliberated from Jan. 4 to Jan. 7, 2005, when they convicted both defendants of the 1999 narcotics conspiracy and one count of exceeding unauthorized access to Customs computer. Jorge Reyeros was acquitted of the separate 1997 charges.
In passing sentence, Judge Bassler said, “There is a real need for everyone to know that a government official who misuses his office in such a heinous way has to suffer the consequences.”
Jorge Reyeros was a Customs inspector who had been employed by the former U.S. Customs Service since 1973. He worked out of Customs offices at Port Elizabeth and, after the charged offenses, at Newark International Airport.
Evidence at trial showed that Jorge Reyeros used a Customs computer on April 12, 1999 to conduct research concerning a company that his co-conspirators, including Juan Reyeros, intended to use to import a shipment of approximately 400 to 500 kilograms of cocaine. The coconspirators were unaware that the company, which was called “TJ Import Produce,” had been invented by Customs agents a few days earlier as part of an investigation into the possibility that a Customs employee was assisting narcotics traffickers.
One of the narcotics traffickers, Uribe, was extradited from Colombia and arrived in the United States in December 2004, when he pleaded guilty before Judge Bassler to participating in the 1999 narcotics conspiracy. Uribe testified at the trial of his co-defendants on December 16 and 21, 2004.
Uribe will face sentencing on a date in February to be determined. He faces a statutory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and a fine up to $4 million.
The fourth defendant named in the Superseding Indictment, Rafael Garavito-Garcia, is a fugitive.
The U.S. Customs Service was divided and reorganized when the Department of Homeland Security was created in March 2003. The inspection service, for which Jorge Reyeros was employed, became part of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the investigative agents became part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Reyeros investigation was conducted by agents who were originally employed by the Internal Affairs division of the United States Customs Service and later by the Office of Professional Responsibility of ICE.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marion Percell, who handled the sentencing in court today.
Christie credited Special Agent Michael Fischgrund and Intelligence Research Specialist Michael Grimaldi of the Office of Professional Responsibility of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (formerly part of the United States Customs Service), under the direction of Karen Connelly, Associate Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Professional Responsibility of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, for their skill and hard work throughout the investigation, trial preparation, trial, and sentencing.
-end-
Defense attorneys:
Jorge Reyeros: Alan Dexter Bowman, Esq., Newark
Juan Reyeros: Raymond M. Brown, Esq., Newark, and Benson Weintraub, Esq., Miami