News Releases and Statements

Monica Leticia Morales de Guzman was arrested Sept. 7 as she arrived at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) from Guatemala en route to Boston, Mass. She is expected to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Johnson Sept. 10.

Yimmy Anthony Pineda Penado, a former clique leader of MS-13 in Maryland, pleaded guilty Monday for his role in a gang-run juvenile prostitution ring.

Steven Mazer of Philadelphia, Pa. was arrested Friday by ICE HSI special agents for producing child pornography. Mazer taught karate at a school in the Bustleton section of Philadelphia, which offers classes to young children.

An indictment was unsealed Thursday charging four individuals with a cocaine distribution and money laundering conspiracy based in El Paso. These indictments resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Robert Chace, 25, of East Providence, R.I., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell Jr. Judge McConnell also ordered the defendant to participate in sex offender treatment, mental health treatment and substance abuse treatment.

Juan Adames, 29, of Ridgefield Park, N.J., pleaded guilty to bulk cash smuggling and other related charges in June 2012. Adames was arrested in August 2010 after failing to declare approximately $153,000 to customs officers in the Dominican Republic.

Johnny Lee Cole, 43, is a convicted sex offender who was previously found guilty of enticing a child for indecent purposes.

Steven Donald Lemery was sentenced to 80 years in prison Wednesday by Douglas County Superior Court Judge David. T. Emerson.

Three men, two from Atlanta and one from New York, appeared in federal court Thursday on charges that they conspired to bribe a federal immigration official in return for assistance with their immigration status, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).

John David Baker, 29, of Celebration, Fla., is charged with production, transportation and possession of child pornography.

Jose Angel Lopez-Garcia, a Mexican national who was encountered by U.S. ICE's Secure Communities program, was sentenced Thursday to time served for illegally reentering the United States after deportation. He pleaded guilty to the charge Aug. 20.

A previously deported criminal alien, Ricardo Lopez-Munguia, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to illegally voting in the 2008 presidential election using the name of a U.S. citizen whose identity he assumed more than two decades ago.

Akeem R. Gumbs was sentenced in federal court Thursday in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, to 25 years in prison for production and distribution of child pornography, and for the sexual exploitation of a minor. The investigation was conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Following a joint operation between ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), three individuals were arrested Thursday at the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (LMMIA) in San Juan for attempting to import, with the intent to distribute, more than six kilograms of heroin.

ICE HSI, working jointly with other members of the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force (CCSF), seized 1,000 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $72 million Wednesday south of Isla Saona, Dominican Republic.

Julio Cesar Revolorio Ramos of Adelphi, Md., was arrested late yesterday by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents on federal charges of transporting a teen girl as part of his prostitution business.

Joe N. Flowers Jr., 42, of Henrietta, N.Y., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer. The sentence will be served consecutive to a state sentence the defendant is currently serving.

A North Carolina man and a former staff sergeant with U.S. Special Forces, National Guard Unit, pleaded guilty Thursday to violating the Arms Export Control Act.

With flood waters reaching as high as 48 inches in some areas of the city, the team assisted with its MRAP.

John Wyss, aka "Bones," 55, of Monroe, Wis., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Maurice Hicks in the Western District of Louisiana. On May 17, Wyss was found guilty on three counts after trial, including: one count of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, one count of conspiracy to advertise child pornography, and one count of conspiracy to distribute child pornography.

A Mexican national pleaded guilty today to one count of illegally reentering the United States after deportation. He faces up to two years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Roland J. Flath, 72, of Fond du Lac, Wis., was sentenced Thursday to five years in federal prison for traveling to a foreign country and having illicit sexual conduct with a minor.

Six men pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday as a result of the efforts of a multi-agency investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), led by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Nestor Vladimir Sandoval Roca, aka William Zapatero, 36, a citizen of El Salvador residing in College Park, Md., was sentenced Thursday to 210 months in prison following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Adam Joshua Cortez, 31, is most recently a resident of Justin, Texas. He was sentenced following his conviction at trial in May. In July 2011, Cortez used the Internet and a cell phone to try to entice an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old girl to have sex with him.