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Defendant Sentenced to Life in Prison for Racketeering Conspiracy
Ricardo Valles De La Rosa, 52, a Barrio Azteca gang lieutenant, has been sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in a racketeering and drug trafficking conspiracy. The sentencing was announced on July 20 by Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco, U.S. Attorney Richard L. Durbin Jr. of the Western District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge Douglas Lindquist of the FBI’s El Paso, Texas, Office, and Special Agent in Charge Will Glaspy of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) El Paso Division.
According to the indictment, Valles, aka Chino, pleaded guilty on January 13 to racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to import heroin, cocaine and marijuana, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. As part of his plea, Valles agreed that he conspired to commit murder in a foreign country.
Valles was one of 35 members and associates of the BA gang charged in a third superseding indictment unsealed in March 2011, with various counts of racketeering, murder, drug offenses, money laundering and obstruction of justice. The indictment alleged that members and associates of the BA have engaged in a host of criminal activity, ranging from drug trafficking, extortion and money laundering to kidnapping and homicides.
The victims of the murders included a U.S. consulate employee and her husband, as well as the husband of another U.S. consulate employee. The individuals were killed by the BA because they were mistakenly believed to be rivals associated with the Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman Drug Trafficking Organization.
In connection with his plea, the defendant admitted that the BA gang is a paramilitary gang with members in West Texas and Juarez, Mexico, that operates both inside and outside the prison system, and engages in drug trafficking, money laundering, extortion, intimidation, violence, threats of violence and murder. Valles also admitted that he became an associate of the BA while imprisoned at a Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facility, where he rose to the rank of sergeant.
Following his release from the BOP facility and deportation to Juarez, Valles was promoted to lieutenant and placed in charge of prostitution and illegal after-hours alcohol sales in downtown Juarez, and also collected ‘cuota.’ He maintained contact on behalf of the BA with a Mexican law enforcement entity, and would use that contact to obtain information regarding the arrests of BA members, the activities and locations of rival gang members and the results of hits carried out by the BA.
The defendant was sentenced to life in prison on each of counts one through three, and to 240 months in prison on count four, all to run concurrently. The defendant was also sentenced to five years of supervised release.
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Organized Crime, Violent Crime, Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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