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New York Alien Smuggler Caught and Sentenced
A federal court in Vermont has sentenced 28-year-old Roberto Rivera-Ortiz to time served, followed by one year of supervised release, for making false statements to Border Patrol agents.
Rivera-Ortiz, a resident of the New York City area, was arrested in September 2014 after Border Patrol agents in Derby Line encountered a male and female who had walked across the US-Canadian border.
When questioned, Rivera-Ortiz appeared nervous and was soon established to have transported the two aliens from Montreal to just north of the border, letting them out to cross on foot and attempting to pick them up to drive to New York.
According to court records, the two individuals were a Mexican national with no status in the US and a citizen of El Salvador. Rivera-Ortiz’s car had entered Canada at Niagara Falls last June and the US at Derby Line earlier that morning.
Rivera-Ortiz was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender David McColgin, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples served as the prosecutor.
As a condition of supervised release, the court ordered Rivera-Ortiz to perform 100 hours of community service. His sentence serves as a reminder of the consequences of human trafficking and alien smuggling.
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Key Facts
- State: Vermont
- Category: Human Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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