Customs agent allegedly took bribes

Published: April 28, 2011 at 11:14 AM

MIAMI, April 28 (UPI) -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Juan Martinez has been suspended from his job without pay pending an investigation, officials said.

Martinez allegedly took more than $100,000 in bribes from a government informant in exchange for his providing temporary parole for Colombians and others into the United States, The Miami Herald reported Thursday.

Martinez's attorney, Marty Raskin, declined to comment.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Ivan L. Ortiz-Delgado also declined to comment. He said the "Privacy Act prevents ICE from commenting further about the specifics of Mr. Martinez's employment situation with the agency."

The informant, Jose Miguel Aguirre-Pinzon, was charged earlier this month with a single bribery offense, in which he was accused of paying about $109,000 to "a public official, with the intent to influence any official act."

Martinez is also under investigation in a Drug Enforcement Administration case. DEA agents detained him in late March after they found a large amount of money is his car in Miami-Dade County.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/04/ ... 304003646/