FBIS4-56434
"drlat086_c_94004"
FBIS-LAT-94-086
Daily Report
2 May 1994
MEXICO
PGR Arrests Tamaulipas Cartel Money Launderer
PGR Arrests Tamaulipas Cartel Money Launderer
PA0405124894 Mexico City LA JORNADA in Spanish 2 May 94 pp
53, 72
PA0405124894
Mexico City LA JORNADA
Spanish
BFN
[Article by Roberto Garduno Espinosa]
[Text] The Attorney General's Office (PGR) has said the
arrest of Carlos Resendez Bertolousi in Monterrey is one of the
most important blows dealt to drug trafficking. Resendez was in
charge of laundering the money the Tamaulipas
Cartel made by selling drugs. The PGR added that the
alleged criminal, who is linked to Juan Garcia Abrego, main
Tamaulipas Cartel leader who is on the loose, was
sent to the Topo Chico Social Readaptation Center in Nuevo Leon
State.
A group of judicial policemen, led by Horacio Brunt Acosta,
received a tip on 19 March and arrested Resendez as Raymundo
Gumaro Garza Sanchez and Eliseo Hernandez, who had $110,000 in
their possession. The two men said the money came from the sale
of 50 kg of cocaine owned by Resendez.
The PGR based its investigations on reports by U.S. DEA and
Federal Judicial Police (PJF). These reports indicate the
following: "Carlos Resendez is a key and essential figure in the
operational and financial organization owned by Juan Garcia
Abrego, currently on the loose and alleged author of many
crimes, including health crimes, arms warehousing, and fraud
[usurpacion de funciones].
The relationship between the two capos began in
1982, when Resendez was a Tamaulipas Judicial Police chief.
Upon meeting Garcia, he offered him and his relatives
protection. Years later, as he left the Judicial Police ranks,
Resendez "suddenly" became a prominent businessman in charge of
a company called Autolineas Mavi, Inc.
Two large economic transactions cast a shadow over Resendez.
On 19 May 1993, he made deposits of up to 5 million new pesos
in the Banorte Bank, Account No. 1023597771, under the name of
Nohema Quintanilla, whom the PGR believes is his mistress. The
second incident was the confiscation of $432,000 from Cornelio
Herrera and Adriana Castrocerio, who claimed the money belonged
to Resendez.
These reports indicate that the Tamaulipas Cartel,
in operation for the last 15 years, is a multinational business
whose tentacles reach into the United States, Mexico, Guatemala,
El Salvador, and Colombia. In the United States, the cartel
operates in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Ohio, New
York, and New Jersey. In Mexico, the criminal organization
operates in 23 states. In addition, six estates, businesses,
and companies linked to Resendez have been located. They all
are under different names.
The Steps of Resendez
The PGR also detected the purchase of five 1994 vehicles
from
the Country Car Company, whose alleged owner is Garcia Abrego.
Another case involves the hiring of a "large group of exclusive
artists," who would presumably perform at his daughter Zulema's
wedding on 15 May. The PJF learned Resendez introduced Ruben
Ramirez to Juan Garcia Abrego to ensure that "Ramirez would
become Garcia's legal representative in charge of recovering
real estate and personal property owned by the Tamaulipas
Cartel chief.
In late 1993, the PGR captured several cartel members and
Garcia's henchmen, including Luis Medrano Garcia, Jose Medrano
De la Rosa, and Adolfo De la Garza, whom the federal government
will prosecute. Medrano De la Rosa is charged with murder and
criminal association.
Our Monterrey correspondent, David Carrizales, reported that
when Resendez was presented to the media, he admitted to being a
friend of Garcia Abrego's, but said he is innocent of the drug
trafficking charges. He added he is the victim of a vendetta by
Eduardo Valle, private secretary of Attorney General Diego
Valades Rios. Resendez is in the custody of the 6th Topo Chico
District Court. Two arrest warrants on two associates of Garcia
Abrego's are still pending.