Life Sentence for Texas Cocaine Dealer

A Texas man was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday, July 10, 2012, for his participation in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine in Alabama, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Mobile County Sheriff's Office.

Frank James Abston, 40, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced to life imprisonment in federal court after he entered a guilty plea to the charges in November 2011. Judge Callie V. S. Granade imposed the life sentence after conducting a hearing to determine the advisory guideline range applicable to Abston's case. Six witnesses testified to their extensive drug transactions with Abston, who was characterized as a major supplier of cocaine and crack cocaine in Mobile County.

"With Mr. Abston's previous criminal history, he should have known that severe consequences were in store for him should he continue to violate the law," said Raymond R. Parmer Jr., special agent in charge of HSI New Orleans. "HSI has had no better partners than the Mobile County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Alabama in identifying and arresting significant drug traffickers in our area of operations. This significant sentence should put Mr. Abston's former colleagues on notice that they will either reform their ways or share his fate." Parmer oversees HSI activities in Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.

According to the testimony, most of the drug transactions occurred in south Mobile County, in the Grand Bay area. Abston's co-defendant, Walter Lee Hodges, testified that Abston hired him to transport cocaine on the bus two days before they were arrested by Mobile County sheriff's deputies. Hodges testified that he and Abston's girlfriend each brought a kilogram of cocaine on the bus from Houston to Mobile. When they were stopped in a vehicle off Interstate 10 in Mobile, they had approximately 500 grams of cocaine in the car.

Hodges testified that Abston sold the rest of the cocaine the night they arrived and the next morning.

Abston testified at the hearing in his own behalf, and he claimed that he was only minimally involved in selling drugs and that his former defense attorney misled him about the terms of his guilty plea. After the testimony was concluded, Judge Granade found that Abston occupied a position of leadership in the conspiracy, that he was accountable for at least 127 kilograms of cocaine and 1.4 kilograms of crack cocaine (both figures she characterized as very conservative), and that Abston was not entitled to any mitigation in the guideline calculations because he had not been truthful in his testimony before the court.

Judge Granade found that his advisory guideline range was life imprisonment, and that because of his prior drug convictions, the federal enhancement statute also called for a life sentence.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gloria Bedwell.

Polish Fugitive Deported for Felony Charges

A Polish national who is wanted in his home country for racketeering, extortion and battery was deported and turned over to Polish law enforcement officials Tuesday, July 10, 2012, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Slawomir Grymuza, 49, was flown from Chicago to Warsaw, Poland, on a commercial flight July 9. ERO officers escorted Grymuza on the flight and turned him over to the custody of Polish authorities July 10 upon arrival at the Warsaw International Airport.

An Interpol notice was issued for Grymuza Nov. 4, 2009. He was being sought in Poland to serve a prison sentence for his criminal convictions of racketeering, extortion, fraud, battery and beating causing bodily harm.

According to the Interpol notice, the circuit court in Bydgoszcz, Poland, issued an arrest warrant for Grymuza March 29, 2006. Between November 1994 and January 1995 he used violence and threats against four individuals on various occasions to extort money from them.

In September 1994, Grymuza kidnapped a man from his residence and beat him with a baseball bat, causing serious injuries, while demanding payment for a debt. Grymuza was found guilty in April 2001; he was sentenced March 6, 2002 to serve four years and two months in prison.

Grymuza, who was residing in Arlington Heights, Ill., entered the United States Oct. 9, 2006 on a temporary visitor's visa. He remained in the United States illegally after his visa expired. He was in the process of adjusting his immigration status based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen when ICE Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) was notified of the outstanding arrest warrant in Poland. On April 9, 2012, HSI and FBI agents arrested Grymuza and he was placed in deportation proceedings.

A federal immigration judge in Chicago ordered him deported June 1; Grymuza waived his appeal.

"This individual attempted to escape justice and a prison sentence in Poland by hiding out in the Chicago area," said Ricardo Wong, ERO Chicago field office director. "On a daily basis, ICE protects public safety by arresting and removing international fugitives who pose a threat to our communities."

Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed about 455 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with ICE's Office of International Affairs, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.

Centralized Filing for Certain USCIS Forms

Beginning June 4, 2012, individuals abroad who have applied for certain visas and have been found ineligible by a U.S. Consular Officer, will be able to mail requests to waive certain grounds of inadmissibility directly to a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Lockbox facility. This change affects where individuals abroad, who have been found inadmissible for an immigrant visa or a nonimmigrant K or V visa, must send their waiver applications.

Currently, applicants experience processing times from one-month to more than a year depending on their filing location. This centralization will provide customers with faster and more efficient application processing and consistent adjudication. It is part of a broader agency effort to transition to domestic filing and adjudication; it does not reflect a change in policy or the standards by which the applications are adjudicated. Individuals filing waiver applications with a USCIS Lockbox will now be able to track the status of their case online.

The change affects filings for:

               Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility

               Form I-212, Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the United States After Deportation or Removal

               Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion, (if filed after a denial of a Form I-601 or Form I-212)

Applicants who mail their waiver request forms should use the address provided in the revised form instructions on the USCIS website. Applicants who wish to receive an email or text message when USCIS has received their waiver request may attach Form G-1145, E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance, to their application.

During a limited six-month transition period, immigrant visa waiver applicants in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, will have the option to either mail their waiver applications to the USCIS Lockbox in the United States or file in-person at the USCIS office in Ciudad Juarez. USCIS is aware of the pending caseload for applicants in Ciudad Juarez and is taking proactive steps to work through these cases. USCIS will significantly increase the number of officers assigned to adjudicate the residual cases filed before June 4, and those filed during the interim six-month transition period. USCIS has already begun to test this process and has transferred applications from Ciudad Juarez to other USCIS offices in the United States.  

This change is separate and distinct from the provisional waiver proposal published in the Federal Register on Mar. 30, 2012.

Homicide Suspect Deported to Mexico Through Secure Communities Program

A Mexican citizen wanted for murder in his homeland was turned over to Mexican law enforcement officers Thursday, July 5, 2012, following his removal from the United States by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Alfredo Montalvo-Coreno, 32, was arrested by the Fayette County Police Department in January for driving without a license. After his fingerprints were submitted to ICE under the Secure Communities program, officers discovered that Montalvo-Coreno was the subject of an Interpol warrant for a homicide committed in the Mexican State of Guanajuato in 2002.

ERO took custody of Montalvo-Coreno June 7 and detained him at the Stewart Detention Center. He was flown to Texas Thursday and turned over to officials from the Mexican Office of the General Attorney at the Laredo, Texas, port of entry.

"ICE works closely with our international law enforcement partners to identify, locate and deport aliens who are wanted in their home countries for allegedly committing heinous crimes," said Felicia Skinner, field office director of ERO Atlanta. "We will not allow criminal aliens to use the United States as a safe haven from their crimes." Skinner oversees ERO activities in Georgia and the Carolinas.

Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 455 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with ICE's Office of International Affairs, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.

Dangerous Cartel Member Deported to Mexico

A fugitive female member of La Familia Michoacana cartel, for whom Mexico offered a $5 million peso reward, is in custody in her native country following her capture in Los Angeles and subsequent deportation.

Anel Violeta Noriega Rios, 27, was arrested without incident June 27 at her El Monte residence by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers and other members of the U.S. Marshals Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force. Noriega Rios was taken into custody on administrative immigration violations. Two days later she was transported to the border crossing in San Ysidro, Calif., and turned over to Mexican authorities under tight security.

Noriega Rios is charged in a 64-page criminal warrant issued in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas in January 2010 with ongoing involvement in organized crime and drug trafficking. Mexican authorities allege Noriega is one of La Familia's main U.S.-based operatives, helping oversee the organization's methamphetamine distribution activities in California and Washington state.

Rooted in the Mexican state of Michoacan, La Familia is known for being extremely violent. According to U.S. authorities, the cartel is engaged in narcotics trafficking, kidnapping, extortion and other criminal activities. In addition to distributing cocaine and marijuana, the organization is also believed to be heavily involved in producing methamphetamine for export to the United States.

"Last week's removal should be a reminder to fugitives in Mexico and around the world that we won't allow our borders to be barriers to bringing dangerous criminals to justice," said David Marin, acting field office director of ERO Los Angeles. "ICE will continue to work closely with its law enforcement counterparts in Mexico to assure the safety of law abiding citizens in both nations."

Mexican officials say Noriega Rios' capture is the direct result of the excellent cooperation between U.S. and Mexican authorities and the two countries' exchange of strategic information. Mexican officials note the case also demonstrates the ongoing commitment between ICE and the Office of the General Attorney of Mexico (PGR) to address matters of mutual concern.

Noriega Rios was deported to Mexico after ERO reinstated her prior order of removal from 2004. Department of Homeland Security databases indicate Noriega Rios was arrested and repatriated to Mexico five times by U.S. Customs and Border Protection-Border Patrol agents between 2004 and 2005. She had no criminal convictions in the United States.

Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed about 455 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with ICE's Office of International Affairs, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.

Partnership with Native American "Shadow Wolves" Stops Drug Trafficking at Border

Located in a remote area of Arizona that shares a 76-mile stretch of land with the Mexico border, the Tohono O'odham Nation became a thoroughfare for smugglers.

"It's the reality of living on the border," said Rodney Irby, assistant special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Sells, Ariz. "There was a definitive drug smuggling threat on the second largest Indian reservation in the United States."

That's why the residents of the Tohono O'odham Nation embarked on a unique partnership with ICE's legacy agency, the U.S. Customs Service, in 1974. The two organizations formed the Shadow Wolves, ICE's tactical patrol unit.

"To date, we are the first and only federal law enforcement agency authorized a permanent residence on the Tohono O'odham Nation which is comparable in size to the state of Connecticut," said Irby.

When the partnership was established, the U.S. Customs Service agreed to hire Native American officers to serve as part of the Shadow Wolves. ICE upholds this commitment today.
"The Shadow Wolves enable us to develop intelligence from a somewhat closed society that wouldn't be available to non-community members," said Irby. "[They are] also expert trackers. They use their Native American tracking skills that were instilled in them when they were young for hunting and tracking livestock and apply those skills to locating smugglers in the remote desert terrain."

Shadow Wolves officers patrol smuggling corridors based on information from the community. They start a mission when someone finds signs – animal indicators, footprints or evidence of backpackers. Sometimes they work on foot, and other times, by vehicle. It is not uncommon for a Shadow Wolves officer to work continuously for 24 hours to catch someone.

The unit was heavily involved in the success of Operation Pipeline Express, a 17-month multi-agency investigation responsible for dismantling a massive narcotics trafficking organization suspected of smuggling more than $33 million worth of drugs each month through Arizona's western desert. Since October, the Shadow Wolves have seized 20,719 pounds of marijuana and 20 vehicles and made 8 arrests.

How did the Shadow Wolves get its name?

 

Stanly Liston, one of the seven original members of the Shadow Wolves, was extremely adept at tracking and quietly sneaking up on backpackers – sometimes even handcuffing them as they slept. He was nicknamed the "Shadow Man." As the unit matured, the group's tactics also evolved. When a member located a good sign to follow, the remaining members converged on the scene like a pack of wolves. Hence, the Shadow Wolves were born.

Brazilian Native Suspected of Child Trafficking Deported

A Brazilian woman wanted in her native country as a suspect in a child trafficking investigation was deported and turned over to Brazilian federal police Wednesday, June 27, 2012, by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Phoenix.

Vania Maria Plasse, 47, of Governador Valaderes, Brazil, was repatriated to Brazil aboard a commercial aircraft under escort by ERO agents. Plasse, who was previously held in immigration detention in Arizona, was turned over to Brazilian authorities at Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo the morning of Wednesday, June 27, 2012. She is charged in a criminal arrest warrant issued in April 2011 by a Brazilian federal judge related to a child trafficking investigation.

"Plasse's return to Brazil to face criminal charges is the result of close international cooperation between ICE personnel in Arizona, our ICE attaché staff in Brazil and Brazilian law enforcement," said Katrina S. Kane, field office director of ERO Phoenix. "ICE is committed to working closely with our law enforcement partners here and abroad to ensure these individuals are identified and brought to justice."

Plasse was first encountered by U.S. authorities January 12, 2011, when she was arrested by agents with the U.S. Border Patrol's Tucson Sector after entering the U.S. illegally near Nogales. Plasse was subsequently issued a notice to appear before an immigration judge and transferred to ICE custody, where she was placed in immigration detention at the Eloy Detention Center while undergoing removal proceedings.

In April 2011, the ICE attaché office at the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia notified ICE officials in Arizona that Brazilian authorities had just issued an arrest warrant for Plasse related to a child trafficking investigation. Assistant Chief Counsel Ryan Goldstein from ICE's Office of the Chief Counsel Phoenix handled the ensuing immigration court litigation and in May 2012, an immigration judge with the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review ordered Plasse deported.

Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed about 455 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with ICE's Office of International Affairs, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.