Two sentenced to prison for running bus service for illegal immigrants
By Bryan Denson
November 30, 2009, 4:16PM

The wheels of justice turned swiftly for a Los Angeles couple caught operating a bus service for illegal immigrants in Medford.

In June, government prosecutors charged Nabor Castaneda-Cortez, 31, and Norma Delia Lopez-Ramirez, 37, with illegally transporting nine people after federal agents stopped them at an Interstate 5 rest stop.

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Owen M. Panner sentenced them to prison terms of 1 year, 3 months for transporting illegal aliens for financial gain.

The government accused Castaneda-Cortez and Lopez-Ramirez, both formerly of Mexico, of operating as "rieteros." It's a term used by federal agents to describe those who, for a fee, transport people who sneak into the United States from Mexico, often after using the services of "coyotes" who smuggle them over the border.

The six adults and three children whom Castanada and and Ramirez were transporting were headed to towns in Oregon and Washington, including Beaverton, Woodburn and Pasco.

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