Antonio O. Escobar, Cocaine Conspiracy, Illinois 2013

A Fairmont City man has been held accountable for his role in a large cocaine distribution organization.

On July 3, 2013, Antonio O. Escobar, 27, was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release in federal court for his part in the organization.

Escobar was also ordered to pay a fine of $500 and a special assessment of $200.

The conviction is a result of an investigation conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).

The OCDETF initiative brings together federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and resources to identify, target, and dismantle large national and international drug trafficking organizations.

Participating agencies in this case include the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), U.S. Marshal Service, the Granite City Police Department, Fairmont City Police Department, Collinsville Police Department, Fairview Heights Police Department, Caseyville Police Department, Pontoon Beach Police Department, Park Hills (Missouri) Police Department, the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, and the Illinois State Police.

Escobar pled guilty on March 29, 2013, to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute Cocaine.

To date, twenty-eight other members of the organization have been convicted and sentenced.

One individual who was indicted at the same time as Escobar has entered a plea of guilty and is awaiting sentencing, which is currently scheduled for July 19, 2013.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdil/pr/fairmont-city-man-sentenced-role-cocaine-conspiracy