http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6250849.html

Strip club boss pleads guilty in border ammo smuggling
By DANE SCHILLER Copyright 2009 HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Feb. 6, 2009, 6:08PM


The manager of a men’s club in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to attempting to smuggle ammunition south of the border, officials said Friday.

Raul Alvarez, 29, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in December after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found 282 rounds of ammunition, three pistols and eight assault rifle magazines in a secret compartment in his sport utility vehicle, according to court documents.

The discovery was made near an international bridge in Laredo. Authorities on both sides of the Rio Grande are trying to stop the flow of U.S. guns that end up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels that are battling each other and the government.

As many as 5,000 people died in drug cartel violence in Mexico last year. It is unclear from court documents what Alvarez intended to do with the weapons or if he’d previously smuggled any into Mexico.

Alvarez faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is to be sentenced in April, according to a statement released by Tim Johnson, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, which is based in Houston.

A cavity of the rear passenger speaker had been modified to hide the ammunition and weapons, according to Johnson, who said a cover was wired electronically to open and close by pushing buttons in the front of the vehicle.

When Alvarez was first stopped and questioned about whether he was bringing weapons, ammunition or cash into Mexico, he behaved nervously and began trembling, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.

The case has been prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana Song.

dane.schiller@chron.com