By Danny Fenster
ticklethewire.com
Things did not go the way Gerardo Castillo-Chavez and Armado Garcia had hoped in Laredo, Texas, on Wednesday.
Both men saw guilty verdicts returned on all charges against them, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced. Castillo-Chavez, a 25-year-old from Tamaulipas, Mexico, was convicted of “conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, interstate travel in aid of racketeering (ITAR) and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime or a crime of violence,” according to the Justice Department.
The guilty verdicts were returned unanimously after a four-day trial and six-hours of deliberation.
A Feb. 17, 2010 indictment charged Castillo-Chavez and 33 other individuals with 47 counts of conspiracy to kidnap and murder U.S. citizens in a foreign country, drug conspiracy, kidnapping conspiracy, firearms conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, use of juveniles to commit a violent crime, accessory after the fact and solicitation as well as substantive money laundering, drug trafficking and ITAR charges, according to the Justice Department. To date, 14 of those charged have been convicted.
Several witnesses in the trial tied Castillo-Chavez to the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas, and implicated Castillo-Chavez, also known as “Cachetes,” in a double murder on April 2, 2006, as well as other attempted murders a violent attacks in Mexico.
OTHER STORIES OF INTEREST:
- FBI Director Robert Mueller to Keynote RSA Conference 2012 (MarketWatch)
- FBI Agent Testifies NOPD Cop’s Danzinger Report Inaccurate (WWLTV)
- Woman Busted after Pa. Lottery Mix-Up (FOX)
- Chicago Officials Say 1968 is History as they Prepare to Handle G-8, NATO Protests (Chicago Tribune)
- Hundreds of Guns Stolen in String of Professional Burglaries (YouHoustonNews.com)
- Three Busted by DEA for Regional Heroin, Meth and Cocaine Ring (Patch)
- DEA Informant Lived Final Days in Fear, According to Witnesses at Murder Trial (Dayton Daily News)
