By Steve Neavling
A corrupt ex-DEA agent spent his final hours of freedom blowing the whistle on his former colleagues and berating the war on drugs.
In an interview with the Associated Press before he went to prison, José Irizarry, 48, said he was far from alone in skimming from drug money-laundering stings to build a lavish lifestyle.
Irizarry was sentenced last year to more than 12 years in prison for diverting more than $9 million from undercover money-laundering investigations to his own accounts to buy luxury cars, jewelry, and a home.
According to Irizarry, dozens of other federal agents, prosecutors, informants and even cartel smugglers were also involved, choosing locations across three continents to indulge in decadence.
“We had free access to do whatever we wanted,” the 48-year-old Irizarry told the AP in a series of interviews. “We would generate money pick-ups in places we wanted to go. And once we got there it was about drinking and girls.”
Irizarry said authorities were resigned to the fact that the war on drugs was a useless endeavor.
“You can’t win an unwinnable war. DEA knows this and the agents know this,” Irizarry said. “There’s so much dope leaving Colombia. And there’s so much money. We know we’re not making a difference.”
“The drug war is a game. … It was a very fun game that we were playing.”
