Ex-Border Patrol agent gets 5 years
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September 16, 2008 - 8:46PM
By Sara Perkins, The Monitor

McALLEN - An Edinburg man has been sentenced to five years in prison for failing to report a drug seizure when he was a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

Former agent Juan Espinoza, 31, pleaded guilty in June to charges of making false statements or entries in connection with his failure to document the seizure in disregard of his official duty.

Espinoza, a nearly eight-year veteran of the Border Patrol, was caught in a 2006 sting operation in which an informant tipped him off to the location of a duffel bag containing cocaine, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Espinoza retrieved the bag and hid it rather than report the seizure.

He resigned in May this year during an investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General.

According to his plea agreement, he agreed to accept responsibility for making a false statement about the seizure to avoid other, possibly more serious charges emerging from the investigation.

The nearly eight-year veteran of the Border Patrol had faced the prospect of up to five years in prison and a possible fine of up to $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James Leo said the former federal agent will serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. U.S. District Judge Randy Crane did not impose a fine.
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