Four Arizona Residents Plead Guilty to Kingpin Statute or Drug Trafficking Violations in Connection with Transnational Criminal Operation

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Four individuals from Arizona have pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of violating federal narcotics and money laundering laws in relation to an international drug trafficking organization (DTO), Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today. The defendants were among 35 individuals charged through a Second Superseding Indictment unsealed in January 2024 for their participation in a domestic and international narcotics and money laundering conspiracy involving substantial quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine (read the Second Superseding Indictment news release here).

Pleading guilty before United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan were:

In connection with the guilty pleas, the Court was advised that, at various times from September 2022 to November 2022, Monarrez Jr.—a co-leader, along with his father Marcos Monarrez-Mendoza, of the Phoenix-based Monarrez Drug Trafficking Organization—was intercepted over a federal wiretap obtaining hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine, millions of fentanyl pills, and kilograms of cocaine from a Mexican national drug supplier. Monarrez Jr. provided the drugs to a network of subordinate drug distributors who redistributed them throughout the country, including into western Pennsylvania. Additionally, Monarrez Jr. provided over $10,000 in proceeds from the drug sales to couriers, who smuggled the money into Mexico to promote the drug trafficking operation.

Further, in the Western District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, the defendants conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, 400 grams or more of fentanyl, and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. The defendants were intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of the drugs that they distributed to others. Additionally, from in and around May 2022 to in and around March 2023, Guerrero conspired to commit money laundering by using bulk amounts of currency obtained from drug trafficking to conduct financial transactions to disguise the nature of the money and promote the drug trafficking conspiracy. Similarly, Guerrero provided money to his suppliers knowing it would be transported to Mexico to further promote the drug trafficking conspiracy.

Monarrez Jr. also pleaded guilty at the same proceeding to a charge from the Eastern District of Michigan of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl from in and around February 2019 to on or about December 14, 2021.

Judge Ranjan scheduled sentencings for Garcia, Guerrero, and Garwood for November 6, 2025, and for Monarrez Jr. for December 5, 2025. The law provides for a sentence of mandatory life imprisonment for Monarrez Jr. The other defendants face a maximum total sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $10 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense(s) and the prior criminal history, if any, of each defendant.

The guilty pleas follow those of 22 additional co-defendants, with nine of those co-defendants having been sentenced thus far.

Assistant United States Attorneys Arnold P. Bernard Jr. and Tonya S. Goodman are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of the defendants. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, and other local law enforcement agencies.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, combat illegal immigration, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).