Thread: Arrests of border agents on the rise

Arrests of border agents on the rise

Investigators arrested 21 U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers on corruption charges in the fiscal year that ended last September.

By Rick Jervis, USA TODAY

A rising number of U.S. border enforcement officers are being arrested on corruption charges as Mexican drug cartels look to bribes as a way to get around tougher enforcement, border officials say.
Investigators arrested 21 U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers on corruption charges in the fiscal year that ended last September, up from eight in the previous 12 months, according to CBP. This year, 14 have been arrested.

Since 2004, 84 officers have been arrested and 62 were convicted, says James Tomsheck, assistant commissioner for internal affairs at CBP, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security. That number represents a small fraction of the more than 52,000 people employed by the agency, which enforces U.S. law along the 2,000-mile border with Mexico.

Still, the trend is alarming, Tomsheck says. "We're deeply concerned. The numbers are disturbing."

Another troubling trend: Mexican syndicates are trying to plant their own people in the agency. Investigators have arrested at least four agents since 2007 who they believe were sent by drug cartels to infiltrate the CBP, Tomsheck says.

The Homeland Security Department's Office of Inspector General, which also investigates border agents, has also reported an increase in border corruption cases.

The rise stems in part from the department's success in patrolling the border, says Thomas Frost, Homeland Security's assistant inspector general for investigations.

As the vast terrain between ports of entry thickens with agents, fences and walls, drug cartels are increasingly targeting checkpoints and trying to influence officers there, he says, and more corruption cases are expected.

Among the border agents arrested:

• Michael Gilliland, a veteran CBP officer in California, who was seduced with sexual favors by a woman working for the cartels and cash, Frost says. In exchange, Gilliland allowed caravans of illegal immigrants to enter the United States. Gilliland pleaded guilty to taking bribes and was sentenced in 2007 to five years in prison.

• Margarita Crispin, a CBP officer in El Paso, allowed vehicles stuffed with marijuana to enter the U.S., according to the Justice Department. Border officials say Crispin, who pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, was sent by a drug gang to infiltrate CBP.

• Raul Villarreal, a CBP spokesman from California, and his brother, Fidel Villarreal, also a border agent, were arrested in Tijuana in October and charged by federal agents with running a smuggling ring that brought in illegal immigrants for money. The brothers have pleaded not guilty and are being held without bail at a federal prison in San Diego.

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