Undercover immigration agent busted on kickback charge
BY JAY WEAVER
November 24, 2008

A federal undercover agent investigating an Ecuadorean-Chinese smuggling ring accepted cash kickbacks and other gifts from a paid U.S. government informant involved in the probe of the illegal migrant network, according to an indictment unsealed Monday.

Veteran Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Pedro Cintron, 52, is charged with taking $8,300 -- along with a gold bracelet and cellphones worth about $2,000 -- from the unidentified informant who worked with him in 2004-05.

Cintron, who lives in Weston, also accepted $12,000 from a Chinese smuggler based in Ecuador as a down payment for bringing illegal migrants into the United States in late 2005, according to the indictment.

In addition to accepting illegal gratuities, Cintron is charged with theft, disclosing the name of a confidential informant and making false statements to authorities in the 14-count indictment.

Cintron, whose wife, mother and other relatives attended a federal hearing Monday, was granted a $200,000 bond. His arraignment is set for Dec. 5.

His attorney, Brian Tannenbaum, said he didn't want to comment because he had not reviewed the indictment. He said his client, who is on paid suspension from ICE, will plead not guilty.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Clark said Cintron's alleged kickback scheme unfolded in 2004 when he demanded a 10 percent cut of ICE's $125,000 payment to the government informant helping the agency penetrate the migrant smuggling operation.


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