Thread: Last defendant in nation's deadliest human smuggling case...

Last defendant in nation's deadliest human smuggling case pleads guilty

April 14, 2008 - 11:10 p.m.
Last defendant in nation's deadliest human smuggling case pleads guilty

HOUSTON (AP) – The last of 14 people indicted for their alleged roles in the nation’s deadliest human smuggling attempt pleaded guilty Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Octavio Torres-Ortega, 42, pleaded guilty to conspiring to harbor and transport aliens illegally in the United States resulting in death and serious bodily injury. He was accused of leading one of the subordinate smuggling rings in an aborted attempt that led to the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants packed in a sweltering tractor-trailer five years ago.

More than 70 immigrants were being transported from South Texas to Houston in 2003 when the driver abandoned the trailer at a truck stop near Victoria.

Torres-Ortega, of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, fled to Mexico to avoid prosecution. He was arrested by Mexican authorities in August 2003, three months after the aborted smuggling attempt. But in 2005, charges against him were dropped by a Mexican judge. He was arrested again in 2006 and held until his extradition in October.

Torres-Ortega now faces life in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 8.

“The horrific events of May 14, 2003, are by no means erased by today’s final conviction,â€

Sentence ends case in 2003 migrant deaths
By MARY FLOOD
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
June 7, 2010, 9:29PM

A chapter closed Monday on the deadliest human smuggling incident in U.S. history when the last defendant responsible for 19 deaths in South Texas was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Octavio Torres-Ortega, 44, of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore in the case in which most of the victims died in a sweltering tractor-trailer left near Victoria in May 2003.

Torres-Ortega, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy for arranging parts of the fatal trip, is the last of 14 defendants in the case to be sentenced.

For some the case is a symbol of many migrant deaths; for others the tragedy bolsters their determination to see immigration laws changed or enforced. For law enforcement it's satisfying to see the end; and for others, like the families of the victims and the officers who first responded to the awful scene, the horror of the loss will always be with them.

“This case is symbolic, unfortunately, because the largest number died in one incident. But for many years, hundreds have died each year in the deserts and the Rio Grande,â€

its hard to believe this has incident took place seven years ago.
it doesnt seem that long ago.

Life in prison for this scumbag is a fair sentence

Widows file suit against truck maker, owner in 2003 immigrant deaths case
By GABE SEMENZA •
Originally published October 29, 2010 at 6:45 p.m., updated October 29, 2010 at 6:45 p.m.


•Mateo Salgado was 45 and from Mexico. Although he'd lived in Houston for 20 years, authorities deported him a week before his death.

Augusto Stanley Vargas was 31 and from the Dominican Republic. He regularly visited the United ...

Mateo Salgado was 45 and from Mexico. Although he'd lived in Houston for 20 years, authorities deported him a week before his death.

Augusto Stanley Vargas was 31 and from the Dominican Republic. He regularly visited the United States with a tourist visa, but he'd lost his paperwork and opted to enter the country illegally - rather than wait two years for a new visa.


A federal lawsuit filed in Victoria claims the maker and owner of a tractor-trailer are at fault for the deaths of illegal immigrants.

The lawsuit contends the immigrants, who were transported illegally inside a sealed tractor-trailer, could not get out because the trailer lacked escape hatches. The immigrants died of dehydration, suffocation and hyperthermia.

Emilia Salgado and Yanely Altagracia filed the lawsuit on behalf of their children. The widows are New York residents and originally from the Dominican Republic.

Nineteen illegal immigrants died in May 2003 inside the sealed tractor-trailer, which the driver ditched on Victoria's outskirts.

Human smugglers loaded immigrants into the trailer in Harlingen - bound for Houston. By the time the trailer reached Victoria, many immigrants were already dead.

Salgado and Altagracia are the widows of Mateo Salgado and Augusto Stanley Vargas, respectively.

The families seek damages for breach of implied and express warranties, wrongful death and negligence, among other claims.

Great Dane Trailers, which is headquartered in Georgia, is the trailer's maker; Salem Truck Leasing, based in New York, owned the trailer.

"The design of the trailer allowed operators, occupants and passengers to be trapped inside the trailer and yet have no rescue hatch, pull string or other escape mechanism - thus placing trapped occupants of the trailer in danger of suffocation or death," the lawsuit contends.

"Nor did Great Dane warn operators or users of the trailer of the dangers of traveling inside the trailer," the lawsuit continues.

Salem Truck Leasing failed to train the tractor-trailer's driver in operating the trailer, which was designed to store produce and not people, the lawsuit contends.

Tyrone Williams, the tractor-trailer driver, is a New York resident originally from Jamaica. He is serving life in prison for his role in the 19 deaths.

The case against Great Dane Trailers and Salem Truck Leasing, however, is a long shot, said Victoria personal injury lawyer Jim Cole.

Although courts have ruled household freezers and the trunks of new cars must be escapable from the inside, this trailer presents a different scenario, Cole said.

The trailer maker would have had to made the trailer unreasonably safe, he said.

"While it's not without precedent, I think it's a fairly weak argument as it relates to a trailer," Cole said. "First, safety design relates to children becoming inadvertently locked in a product. Second, trucking regulations require a trailer to be sealed so the load is not tampered with and the produce stays healthy."

Cole offered similar input regarding the claims against the trailer owner.

"Generally speaking, a third party is not responsible for the criminal conduct of someone unless they have knowledge of illegal conduct," he said. "(The plaintiffs) would have to show the driver was in the scope of his employment, and that his job was to lock people in the trailer."

Jimmy Delgado, the San Antonio attorney for both widows, agrees the case will be difficult to try. He filed the lawsuit on Oct. 21.

"I think there is enough at least to go to a jury with," Delgado said. "Even though the trailer is not meant for human cargo, it's conceivable you could at some point have human cargo."

Delgado said the case isn't void because of the statute of limitations. The widows filed the suit on behalf of their children, which extends the shelf life of such cases, he said.

Representatives from Great Dane Trailers and Salem Truck Leasing declined comment for this story.

"The very next thing we'll do, in January, is have a pretrial hearing," Delgado said. "That's when we will get a trial date. This is obviously a very tragic deal, but we've been pursuing it for years and we aren't going to stop now."

The pretrial hearing will be in Victoria federal court.


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