Jose Angel Marichalar, Marijuana Trafficking, Texas 2014

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – In a shocking turn of events, Jose Angel Marichalar, 33, Phillip Cross, 56, and Yisnel Garcia Gonzalez, 30, have all entered guilty pleas in a trial set to begin today, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson.

Marichalar, from Mission, Texas, pleaded guilty shortly before the jury was empanelled this morning, while Cross, from Indianapolis, Indiana, and Gonzalez, from Miami, Florida, entered their guilty pleas late yesterday.

The trio was accused of being part of a multi-state drug trafficking and money laundering organization that had existed since 2010. The drug trafficking organization, based out of the Rio Grande Valley, would hire out of state truck drivers to haul loads of produce with ton quantities of marijuana hidden in false compartments.

Drug proceeds would then be transported back to the Rio Grande Valley, with the conspiracy extending to Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

The evidence presented in support of the pleas demonstrated that the men were part of a well-organized and sophisticated operation, with Marichalar pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and conspiracy to launder money.

As part of his plea agreement, Marichalar has agreed to forfeit his interest in several properties and numerous personal items, including tractors, trailers, and jewelry, valued at more than $1 million. He also faces a $10 million money judgment against him.

Cross and Gonzalez pleaded guilty to related charges, with Cross facing a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison, and a maximum $10 million fine. Gonzalez faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison, with a maximum $10 million fine. Marichalar faces an additional 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine for the money laundering conspiracy.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, FBI, Sheriff’s Offices in Cameron and Zapata Counties, Hildalgo County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force, Border Patrol, and the Brownsville Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorneys Angel Castro and Jody Young are prosecuting the case, with all three men set to be sentenced in September 2014. Marichalar will be sentenced on September 14, 2014, while Cross and Gonzalez will be sentenced on September 10, 2014.

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