Kingsville Man Gets 10 Years for Alien Smuggling

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 40-year-old Kingsville man has been ordered to federal prison for leading an alien smuggling conspiracy, announced Acting United States Attorney Abe Martinez announced today. Ryan Paul Turcotte pleaded guilty Jan. 3, 2017.

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack ordered Turcotte to serve 120 months of federal imprisonment to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court found Turcotte to be a leader, manager and organizer of the group and to have transported well in excess of 100 aliens during the course of the conspiracy.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began investigating the Turcotte alien smuggling organization in Kleberg, Nueces and Kenedy counties in November 2014. The investigation revealed Turcotte worked with co-conspirators to facilitate the transportation of illegal aliens from the Sarita and Riviera areas to Houston, Austin and to other destinations throughout the United States. Turcotte and others participated in the conspiracy by transporting aliens, assisting in the transportation of aliens by acting as “scouts,” harboring aliens and facilitating the collection and transportation of the proceeds of alien smuggling, among other things.

HSI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Gould prosecuted the case.