Thread: Border Patrol agent arrested in migrant smuggling case

http://link.toolbot.com/latimes.com/55211

Border Patrol agent arrested in migrant smuggling case
By Richard Marosi, Times Staff Writer
January 16, 2007


SAN DIEGO — A U.S. Border Patrol agent has been arrested on suspicion of being part of a Tijuana-based trafficking organization that smuggled illegal immigrants into Orange County, U.S. law enforcement sources said.

Because the indictment was not scheduled to be unsealed until this morning, few details were available. Robert Harvey, a Border Patrol spokesman, confirmed that an agent was arrested last week. According to sources, the agent is Jose Olivas, a 10-year veteran.

The agent's arrest is the latest in a sharp jump in corruption cases involving local and U.S. law enforcement agencies along the border.

Since 2004, about a dozen of the 200 cases nationwide have involved California-based U.S. customs officers or Border Patrol agents.

Olivas was allegedly part of a ring that included a Colombian-born smuggler who was arrested last week. That man, James Fierro Herrera, was pulled over by federal agents in Oceanside with three illegal immigrants in his vehicle, according to the criminal complaint.

The three, who paid $2,100 to $2,800 each, had been smuggled across the border with fake documents and in the trunks of vehicles, according to the complaint. Fierro allegedly said he was taking them to Santa Ana.

Fierro's attorney could not be reached for comment.

Olivas' role in the organization involved letting the smugglers know when the San Clemente Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 5 would be closed, so the illegal immigrants could be brought across safely, according to a source.

Olivas is scheduled to be arraigned this morning.

good, America laws should be obeyed and any one who disobeys them should be punished. Border Agents represent the america people and not Mexico.

Oct 12, 9:56 PM EDT


Former Border Patrol admits smuggling illegal immigrants

By ELLIOT SPAGAT
Associated Press Writer



SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A former U.S. Border Patrol agent pleaded guilty Friday to taking $100 for each carload of illegal immigrants that he helped get past one of his agency's highway checkpoints.

Jose Olivas Jr. admitted scouting a Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 5, north of San Diego, in his personal vehicle and then calling an accomplice to give him an all-clear to follow.

Olivas, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to smuggle aliens and one count of conspiring to launder money. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison; a prosecutor said the government will likely seek to three to five years.

Olivas, a Border Patrol agent for 10 years, admitted helping more than 100 illegal immigrants get into the United States from January 2006 until his arrest in January.

The former agent likely helped smuggle "hundreds" and pocketed $10,000 to $15,000 for his crimes, said Christopher Ott, an assistant U.S. attorney.

Olivas did not say why he risked his career and freedom for such a small sum.

The courtroom was packed with dozens of uniformed Border Patrol agents.

"Guilty, your honor," Olivas told U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz, who scheduled sentencing Jan. 16.

Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Olivas got into smuggling after becoming romantically involved with another defendant in the case, Maria Del Pilar Fierro Herrera, who is at-large. Olivas' attorney, Elizabeth Missakian, did not immediately respond to a phone message after office hours.

The plea agreement says Olivas worked with others who brought illegal immigrants from Mexico at border crossings in California, including San Diego. He also admitted showing Border Patrol reports to members of the smuggling ring.

"The conduct of Mr. Olivas is serious and disturbing and potentially compromised the security of our borders," said Richard Skinner, the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general, who investigated the case with ICE and the Internal Revenue Service.

Two other defendants, Janmes Fierro Herrera and Rafael Hernandez Lozano, have pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced in November.


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Everybody must obey the laws or suffer the consequences!

Posted on Fri, Jan. 18, 2008
Border agent sentenced in smuggling case
A former U.S. Border Patrol agent was sentenced Friday to 36 months in federal prison for helping immigrant smugglers in exchange for cash.
Jose Olivas Jr., 46, pleaded guilty in October to conspiring to smuggle aliens and launder money. The 10-year veteran of the Border Patrol admitted helping more than 100 illegal immigrants get into the U.S. from January 2006 until his arrest a year later.

Prosecutors said he pocketed as much as $15,000 from smugglers, who paid him $100 each time he scouted a highway checkpoint on Interstate 5 at San Clemente, about 60 miles north of San Diego.

If the checkpoint was closed, he would call the smugglers and give them an all-clear to follow with carloads of migrants.

According to Olivas' plea agreement, he worked with others who brought illegal immigrants from Mexico at border crossings in California, including San Diego. He also admitted showing Border Patrol reports to members of the smuggling ring.

Olivas faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

http://www.charlotte.com/nation/story/452846.html