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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Mario Ruiz Massieu, a former Deputy Attorney General of Mexico, was arrested yesterday in New Jersey for laundering almost $10 million through a Houston bank and conspiring to defraud the United States.

The charges stem from a 25-count indictment that was unsealed today and returned by a federal grand jury in Houston on August 23, 1999. Massieu has been under house arrest since 1995 when he was detained for immigration violations at Newark Airport while on his way to Spain.

In the indictment, Massieu was charged with using an unidentified intermediary to move a total of $9.9 million in cash from Mexico to Houston banks between 1993 and 1995. He had originally opened the account himself with a $40,000 deposit. The intermediary deposited the cash on 26 occasions into accounts at the Texas Commerce Bank and Bank One.

The one-count conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S. carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Massieu is also charged with eight counts of money laundering which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, or twice the value of monetary instruments involved.

Massieu is also charged with eights counts of engaging in financial transactions with property derived from criminal activity, which also carries penalties of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the value of criminally derived property involved in the transaction.

He is also charged with eight counts of illegally transferring money in aid of racketeering which has penalties of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Massieu appeared before U.S. Magistrate Joel Pisano today in federal court in Newark, New Jersey. Judge Pisano ordered Massieu's release upon the execution of a $500,000 bond, co-signed by Massieu and his wife. Judge Pisano also imposed as conditions of the bond home detention and electronic monitoring. His arraignment will be held in Houston at a date to be determined.

The investigation of Massieu was conducted by the Department of Justice, U.S. Customs Service and the FBI, as part of the Organized Crime Task Forces (OCTF) program. The Mexican government also assisted in this investigation.

The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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