California Man Admits Laundering Proceeds From Heroin Trafficking Organization

TRENTON, N.J. – An Anaheim, California, man today admitted laundering money on behalf of an international drug trafficking organization, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.

Harry Madrid, 26, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to Count Two of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to launder money. Madrid was previously arrested in November 2014 in Illinois.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From June 2014 through November 2014, Madrid conspired with other members of a international drug trafficking organization, which included cells operating in New Jersey, to launder more than $150,000 in United States currency related to the distribution of heroin.

One of Madrid’s co-defendants, Henry Zamora, pleaded guilty before Judge Sheridan on Aug. 31, 2017 to conspiring to distribute four kilograms of heroin that were recovered from a hidden compartment in his vehicle.

The money laundering charge to which Madrid pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. Sentencing is set for Dec. 14, 2017.

Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski, officers of the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Superintendent Col. Joseph R. Fuentes, and officers from the DeKalb, Illinois, police department, under the direction of Chief Gene Lowrey, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Kearney and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamari Buxton of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.