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  1. #1
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    Three former National Guard soldiers sent to prison in drug

    Three former National Guard soldiers sent to prison in drug case

    TUCSON, Ariz. -- A former Arizona Army National Guard recruiter who smuggled 110 pounds of cocaine into the country while in uniform has been sentenced to serve 2 1/2 years in federal prison, but says he someday hopes to be able to rejoin the military.


    "I was a good soldier who made a couple bad decisions," Demian F. Castillo, a former sergeant first class and recruiter at a Tucson Guard armory, said at his sentencing hearing. "Time will tell if, one day, I can get back in."

    Castillo, 35, made two drug runs in 2002 in exchange for a $14,000 payoff from what he thought was a Mexican cartel.

    But Castillo was actually snared by the FBI's Operation Lively Green, an undercover probe that netted dozens of military personnel and other public officials. At least 69 members of the military, prison guards, law enforcement employees and other public employees have been convicted of accepting bribes to help smuggle cocaine as a result of the probe.

    Castillo was one of four people sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Tucson.

    Also sentenced were two other former Guard members, Sgt. Sheldon L. Anderson and Guard soldier Mario Quintana. Anderson was sentenced to 10 months in prison and a $5,000 fine for taking part in a single cocaine run in March 2004. Quintana was sent to prison for two years and fined $7,000 for running two loads of cocaine in 2002.

    The fourth person sentenced was a former federal employee who took $1,500 in bribes to falsify test results for Arizona National Guard applicants.

    Christine P. Thomas, 53, was sentenced to three years probation and a $1,500 fine under terms of a plea deal. She pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official.

    Thomas took bribes to boost test scores for about 70 Guard applicants between 2000 and 2002. Test scores help determine what job a recruit may be assigned.

    A test rigging investigation led to the broader probe of cocaine smuggling after a Guard recruiter tried to sell an FBI agent a pound of cocaine.

    Thomas avoided prison time in part because she gave the FBI "significant information" about an unrelated drug-trafficking operation. Prosecutors said her tip-off led to two arrests and the seizure of 4,000 pounds of marijuana.

    "I'd like to apologize, because it was a foolish choice," Thomas told U.S. District Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson.

    Castillo said he fought to retain the chance to re-enlist after his 2005 guilty plea and obtained a general discharge under honorable conditions. Under Army rules, he could apply to have his separation upgraded to an honorable discharge, which would permit him to rejoin the military.

    "All I wanted was a chance to get back in, a chance to come back someday," Castillo said.

    ___

    Information from: Arizona Daily Star, http://www.azstarnet.com

    Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.








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  2. #2
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    The man wants to and thinks he might get back in the military?

    Is that possible?
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