A once-standout U.S. narcotics agent admitted Monday to conspiring to launder money with the same Colombian cartel he was sworn to fight — one of the most egregious betrayals of the badge in the history of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The disgraced agent, Jose I. Irizarry, pleaded guilty to 19 federal counts, including bank fraud and having diverted millions of dollars in drug proceeds from DEA control.
The prosecution was not only an embarrassment for the DEA but could have long-lasting implications on its undercover money-laundering operations. It also raised questions about the level of supervision Irizarry received during his career, in which he had been entrusted with the government’s use of front companies, shell bank accounts and couriers to combat international drug trafficking.
Timothy J. Shea, the DEA’s acting administrator, said Irizarry’s crimes “do not reflect the high standards of conduct we demand of our employees and our agents.”
“Corruption and betrayal of the American people — the very people we stand to protect — have no place at DEA, and neither does Mr. Irizarry,” Shea said.
The former agent looked despondently into his hands as U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas G. Wilson read the charges.
“I’m atoning for my sins,” Irizarry told The Associated Press after the hearing. “I want to move forward.”
Irizarry, 45, had been charged with filing false reports and ordering DEA staff to wire money slated for undercover stings to international accounts he and associates controlled.
He also was accused of sharing sensitive law enforcement information with co-conspirators, prosecutors said, including a Colombian public official and an alleged drug trafficker and money launderer…
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