A man who federal authorities have tied to the Gulf Cartel in Mexico admitted Wednesday to helping transport cocaine and crystal methamphetamine into two states.
Manuel "Manny" Garza, 33, changed his plea to guilty Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright in two cases -- one out of Arkansas and another out of Texas.
In the Arkansas case, Garza admitted to working as a "load manager" for Idalia Rangel, a co-defendant who is the suspected leader of a cocaine-distribution ring based out of her Matamoros, Mexico, home. Garza was charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
The 21/2-year investigation that tagged 16 people began in 2010, when Rangel's son, Mohammad "Mo" Martinez -- who was serving 23 years in prison in Forrest City after 2006 drug convictions -- enlisted soon-to-be-released inmates to sell Rangel's drug supply, prosecutors said.
Inmates Emmanuel "Chi Chi" Ilo and Mervin "Slim" Johnson were released in 2010 after completing their sentences on different charges and began distributing cocaine throughout central Arkansas, authorities said in an indictment.
Through recorded prison telephone conversations, authorities learned that Martinez told Ilo what the necessary documents were to get to Mexico and how to cross the Texas-Mexico border, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Gordon said during Wednesday's hearing.
On Sept. 9, 2010, Ilo crossed from Matamoros to Brownsville, Texas, and his trip included a meeting with Rangel, Gordon said. For nearly a year after, authorities made 12 controlled purchases totalling more than 1 kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, of cocaine altogether.
Using a wiretap on Ilo's cellphone, authorities also learned that Garza worked as a load manager, ensuring that the cocaine was shipped safely from Brownsville to either Ilo or Johnson in Little Rock, Gordon said. Garza was also responsible for getting the drug proceeds to one of Rangel's sons -- another co-defendant -- in Brownsville, Gordon said.
In all, prosecutors said Garza helped move between 15 and 50 kilograms of cocaine, Gordon said.
In the Texas case, Garza admitted to giving a confidential DEA source a "sample" of 2 pounds of crystal methamphetamine.
On May 6, 2013, another man told the DEA source that he was about to receive a 10-pound shipment of crystal methamphetamine in San Antonio, Gordon said. The man later said the courier was unable to deliver the shipment but that Garza could provide the source with a 2-pound sample, he said.
Garza met with the source at a San Antonio grocery store, where he handed over the sample, prosecutors said. The sample had a nearly 81 percent purity, Gordon said.
Prosecutors dropped Garza's other drug charges stemming from the Texas transaction because of his guilty plea to conspiracy with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Wright referred Garza to the probation office after the hearing for a pre-sentence interview.
Under his plea agreements, his sentences will run concurrently. He faces 10 years to life in federal prison for the Arkansas charge and five to 40 years imprisonment for the Texas charge.
Metro on 10/23/2014