2 California CBP officers allegedly took bribes to let undocumented migrants enter U.S.
Two U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in San Diego are facing federal charges for allegedly accepting tens of thousands of dollars in cash bribes to allow vehicles carrying undocumented migrants to pass unchecked through their inspection lanes at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday.
Federal agents arrested officers Farlis Almonte and Ricardo Rodriguez last week and prosecutors charged them with multiple counts related to bringing undocumented migrants into the U.S. for financial gain. They were also each charged with receiving bribes as a public official.
Prosecutors allege that both men would inform co-conspirators in Mexico which lanes they had been assigned to work and then smugglers would drive through those lanes with undocumented migrants riding as passengers. Prosecutors asserted that Almonte permitted at least 45 such crossings, that both men were paid thousands for each vehicle they waved through and that around the same time as the alleged criminal conduct, both Almonte and Rodriguez began making unusually large cash deposits into their bank accounts.
Last week, after Almonte was in custody, investigators allegedly seized nearly $70,000 in cash they believe his romantic partner was trying to move to Tijuana from a San Diego storage locker. Prosecutors wrote in a court filing that Almonte is potentially facing additional charges for money laundering and obstruction of justice.
“Any Customs and Border Protection agent who aids or turns a blind eye to smugglers bringing undocumented immigrants into the U.S. is betraying their oath and endangering our national security,” Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden told the Union-Tribune in a statement. “Those who engage in such misconduct will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Almonte and Rodriguez are at least the fourth and fifth San Diego-area CBP officers to face similar corruption charges within the last two years. A jury convicted Leonard Darnell George last year of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for allowing drugs and undocumented migrants to be smuggled through his inspection lane at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. He was sentenced to 23 years in federal prison.
Jesse Clark Garcia and Diego Bonillo are scheduled to go on trial this summer on charges that they worked for a Mexican drug-trafficking organization to allow vehicles loaded with fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine to pass unchecked through their lanes at the Otay Mesa and Tecate ports of entry.
“The alleged actions of these individuals are deeply troubling and do not reflect the values of CBP or the vast majority of our dedicated personnel who serve with integrity every day,” Sidney Aki, the director of field operations for CBP’s San Diego field office, told the Union-Tribune in response to questions about Almonte and Rodriguez. “We are fully cooperating with the investigation and will take all necessary steps to ensure accountability. The public’s trust is paramount, and we remain committed to upholding the highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct.”
An attorney for Almonte declined to comment on the charges against her client. Rodriguez’s attorney stressed that the case was still in the “infant stages.”
“Certainly, he has the presumption of innocence, and we look forward to working through the current situation,” defense attorney Michael Hawkins said.
Federal investigators began to uncover the alleged corruption in September when several suspected human smugglers told authorities that they had been directed to drive across the border in San Ysidro in certain lanes and at certain times, according to a probable cause statement authored by a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.
Those defendants either stated outright or alluded to the fact that their group was bribing multiple CBP officers, the investigating agent wrote. “Based on review of those defendants’ crossing histories, telephone evidence, and other material, both Almonte and Rodriguez were identified as the corrupt” officers, the agent wrote.
In one example highlighted in the complaint, a smuggling suspect arrested in early September told investigators about three successful smuggling trips made in late August. When investigators checked surveillance footage and internal records, they learned the smuggler had crossed through Almonte’s lane once and Rodriguez’s lane twice, according to the complaint.
Investigators came to learn that Almonte and Rodriguez would be given advance notice of which vehicles would be part of the smuggling conspiracy, according to the complaint. When those vehicles would arrive at their booths, they would enter information into the CBP system asserting that only the driver was in the vehicle, even when surveillance footage clearly showed passengers.
Prosecutors allege that beginning last year, both Almonte and Rodriguez “deposited abnormal amounts of cash” into their bank accounts after depositing a minimal amount of cash in the 18 months prior. During a three-month stretch late last year, Almonte deposited $22,000 in cash while Rodriguez allegedly deposited $24,000 in cash in a six-month period, according to the complaint.
A search warrant related to the case and motions filed by prosecutors seeking to keep Almonte in custody indicate that Almonte’s romantic partner tried to move large amounts of cash directly after visiting Almonte in jail. Investigators were surveilling the woman and seized about $17,000 from her purse and an additional $50,000 from a storage unit that she began renting after Almonte’s arrest, according to prosecutors.
Hawkins, the attorney for Rodriguez, said his client is a native of the Dominican Republic who lawfully immigrated to the U.S. when he was 18 years old and “immediately learned English and graduated college with a degree in automotive engineering.” Hawkins said Rodriguez is a hard worker who “spent a significant period” in the National Guard. “From all accounts, Ricardo was and is a man living out his American dream,” the attorney said.
In court hearings last week, prosecutors argued both men were flight risks who potentially had access to large amounts of cash and should be held in detention without bail. A federal magistrate disagreed and set bail amounts for both men, but consented to pause their release from custody to give prosecutors a chance to appeal the decision.