Gypsy Jan
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Mexico cartel accused of laundering money at U.S. racetracks
From The Los Angeles Times
One of the top suspected members of the Zetas gang is arrested after an uncanny run of good luck on the quarter horse circuit raised suspicions.
WASHINGTON - "The unlikely marriage of a violent Mexican drug cartel and the all-American world of U.S. quarter horses has apparently ended with the
arrest of one of the top suspected members of the Zetas gang after an uncanny run of good fortune at the track raised suspicions.
Charged Tuesday in Austin, Texas, with using horses to launder millions of dollars in drug proceeds were Jose Treviño Morales, his wife and five
associates. They were taken into U.S. custody after scores of FBI agents in all-terrain vehicles and helicopters raided stables and ranches near
Ruidoso, N.M., and Lexington, Okla.
Working on a tip from more than two years ago, law enforcement officials learned that the Zetas were allegedly laundering up to $1 million a month in
the high circles of American-bred quarter horses.
In a federal indictment returned May 30 and unsealed Tuesday in Texas, Treviño and the others were charged with laundering drug profits by
"purchasing, training, breeding and racing American quarter horses." An additional 11 suspects were being sought.
The two-state takedown marks the first known time that a cartel has allegedly used such a tactic - not only secreting its funds in a U.S. enterprise
but investing in a storied U.S. tradition.
Part of the alleged scheme's undoing was its success. Not only was it brazen - some of the horses had cartel names - but it attracted attention by
winning races, including the granddaddy of quarter horse races, the All American Futurity, in 2010.
Robert Pitman, the U.S. attorney in West Texas, said the case showed "the corrupting influence of Mexican drug cartels within the United States."
Richard Weber, chief of the Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigation unit, called it a "prime example of the ability of Mexican drug cartels
to establish footholds in legitimate U.S. industries."
The case is all the more stark considering the long tradition of quarter horse racing, which dates from the American Colonial era. Quarter horses
remain the most popular equine breed in the U.S.
News of the arrests was first reported by the New York Times, which said it had been investigating the alleged scheme for months and had agreed to
withhold publication until charges were filed.
While Treviño and others were fielding winners at the track, the cartel was carrying out some of the most violent killings in Mexico. Last month, 49
dismembered bodies were discovered in bags there, and authorities saw it as the work of Treviño's brother, Miguel Angel Treviño. He is the alleged No.
2 leader of the Zetas and one of the world's most wanted narcotics-smuggling suspects. He is also one of those indicted and being sought in the horse
racing case.
James Phelps, a border expert and assistant professor at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, said horse racing would seem a perfect vehicle
for hiding drug-smuggling profits.
"When you have hundreds of billions a year in your industry and you can't ship the bulk of the cash back, it has to go somewhere," he said. "They are
buying huge ranches in locations across the Southwest and Mountain states. It's just a very viable way to launder the cash."
The Zetas is the largest drug cartel in Mexico, controlling 11 states there, authorities said. It funnels thousands of pounds of cocaine and other
drugs to the U.S. each year, pocketing multimillion-dollar profits.
The indictment alleges that when those profits returned to the Zetas in Mexico in "bulk cash shipments," they were delivered to "plaza bosses for
counting and distribution." To launder the profits, the cartel turned to "investments in racing quarter horses purchased via bulk currency payments,
wire transfers, structured deposits and bulk currency deposits."
Quarter horses generally are shown and raced in California and Southwestern border states. So it seemed a natural, officials said, especially as Zetas
leaders using "Nextel push-to-talk phones, BlackBerries and UHF/VHF radio communications" could oversee the laundering operation safely from Mexico.
Jose Treviño, 45, and his wife, Zulema Treviño, 38, allegedly handled things on the U.S. side. Both were arrested at their Lexington ranch. The couple
allegedly created several corporations - Tremor Enterprises, 66 Land and Zule Farms - to facilitate moving the money to the U.S. and sprinkling it
around the track.
The indictment gave this play-by-play of their alleged activities.
In December 2008, Ramiro Villarreal purchased a quarter horse named Tempting Dash for $21,500. Ten months later, the horse won the Dash for Cash race
at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas. The horse was quickly transferred to Jose Treviño, who was off and running with the horse's future
winnings. Soon he deposited $435,000 into his Bank of America account.
He paid $875,000 for Dashin Follies in January 2010 and $250,000 for a quarter horse he named Corona Coronita Cartel. By September 2010, he and others
had purchased 23 horses for $2.24 million. One horse, which was purchased for $280,000, was named Number One Cartel.
Their horsemanship paid off. In addition to winning the 2010 All American Futurity with Mr. Piloto in one of the largest upsets of its kind, they won
the Texas Class Futurity with Tempting Dash in 2009.
Although the indictment does not say how U.S. authorities learned of the alleged scheme, the New York Times reported that Villarreal began cooperating
with U.S. authorities when faced with possible prosecution. He turned up dead in his incinerated car near Nuevo Laredo, on the Mexican side of the
border, in March 2011.
Those arrested Tuesday, and those who remain at large, face up to 20 years in prison if convicted, as well as fines and other damages of $20 million
and more."
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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jbcoug
Senior Nomad
Posts: 709
Registered: 9-24-2006
Location: Vancouver, WA
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Mood: Needing Baja!
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I'd only be shocked if they hadn't combined these two enterprises. They were made for each other.
John
\"The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.\" Andy Rooney
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thebajarunner
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3718
Registered: 9-8-2003
Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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Mood: muy amable
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Quarter horse racing- a Baja conncection
Frank "Scoop" Vessels was a regular, and successful racer in all the Baja races for years. Sadly he was killed in a private plane crash a couple
years back.
His dad, Frank Sr., was owner of Los Alamitos track and they had a horse name "Timetothinkrich" that won the big million dollar plus AllAmerican
Futurity years ago. Frank Sr., ate his shotgun about 30 years ago, and Scoop inherited a lot of that enterprise.
Great family, but also a great American tragedy.
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captkw
Ultra Nomad
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Location: el charro b.c.s.
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Mood: new dog/missing the old 1
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GYPSY JAN
YOU ROCK !!! you come up contastly with awsome stuff..THANKS K & T
pssst.wanna buy a 1/4 horse ?? cheap ??
[Edited on 6-14-2012 by captkw]
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Gypsy Jan
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Hi captkw
From what I learned from years past, when we had friends that were very involved, if you are interested in buying a quarter horse for racing, there
are "claiming" auctions where you bid on the horses available and it is possible to get one for a very reasonable price.
But like buying a boat, it is the upkeep that gets you.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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LaTijereta
Super Nomad
Posts: 1192
Registered: 8-27-2003
Location: Loreto
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State Dept Alert..Today
The U.S. Embassy alerts U.S. citizens traveling and residing in Mexico to the enhanced potential for violence related to today's arrests of
Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO) associates and family members residing in the United States.
This morning, U.S. federal law enforcement agents arrested associates and family members of a senior TCO member, and seized property and assets within
the United States. These arrests could result in some form of retaliation and/or anti-American violence. Given the history and resources of this
violent TCO, the U.S. Embassy urges U.S. citizens to maintain a low profile and a heightened sense of awareness.
In case of an after-hours emergency involving U.S. citizens, please contact the Duty Officer at the U.S. Consulate general in Tijuana. From Mexico
dial 001 (619) 692-2154, from the U.S., call (619) 692-2154.
Democracy is like two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin (1759)
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