Reputed drug kingpin gets 18 years in prison

By Guillermo Contreras, gcontreras@express-news.net
Published 12:05 p.m., Thursday, December 8, 2011

A reputed co-founder of the Juárez Cartel was sentenced Thursday to more than 18 years in prison and fined $250,000 for violating federal racketeering law.

Juan José Quintero-Payán, 69, was charged more than two decades ago in San Antonio with crimes related to drug-trafficking, and he quietly apologized during his sentencing before U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia.

“I ask for forgiveness to the society of the United States,â€