Latest news with #JorgeHernandez
CBS News
20 hours ago
- CBS News
DEA informant accused of trying to extort high-level cocaine traffickers, feds say
A drug informant who helped the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration build some of its biggest cases has been arrested and charged with scheming to extort major cocaine traffickers facing extradition from Colombia and the Dominican Republic. Jorge Hernández, 57, was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday with one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud. He remains in custody after being arrested and making his initial court appearance Wednesday in federal court in Fort Lauderdale. Feds allege scheme to defraud drug traffickers Court papers allege that Hernández operated a scheme starting in 2020 in which he pretended to be a paralegal who, for the right price, could obtain lighter sentences for drug kingpins, according to 17-page FBI affidavit. The FBI alleged that Hernández demanded payments of $1 million from six suspected drug traffickers who ended up surrendering or being extradited to the U.S. In exchange for the payments — which came in the form of cash, jewelry, properties and vehicles in Colombia — Hernández guaranteed short prison sentences that would be served "in an apartment similar to being on house arrest," the court papers said. But Hernández never delivered on his promises, nor did he have authority to offer such leniency. As the traffickers who thought they were buying influence grew upset, he would deny responsibility and shift blame to the traffickers' attorneys, the FBI said. Nestor Menendez, an attorney who represented Hernández at his initial appearance, declined to comment. "Bowling ball" helped build some of the biggest cases In two decades as a confidential informant, Hernández had been one of federal law enforcement's most prolific case-makers, providing the types of tips and information that led to prosecutions of high seas drug smugglers, a former University of Miami money laundering expert and a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Better known in law enforcement circles by his Spanish nickname Boliche — bowling ball — the beefy, bald-headed Colombian was also the star witness in the 2023 bribery trial of two former DEA supervisors convicted for leaking information on ongoing drug investigations. He got his start as an informant in 2000 shortly after he was arrested in Venezuela, where he had fled to escape drug dealers seeking to kill him, according to a 2023 investigation by The Associated Press. After bribing officials to secure his release, he approached the DEA, admitting to killing three people during his days as a drug runner near his home along Colombia's Caribbean coast. He then began helping the DEA build some of its biggest cases. Agents grew so reliant on Hernández's network of criminal associates across the Western hemisphere that they set him up with a phone and desk at a federal anti-narcotics task force, the AP found. Hernandez turned the tables on DEA The DEA terminated his cooperation agreement in 2008, court records show, after authorities discovered he had threatened to expose informants as snitches unless they paid him to keep quiet. But he kept close to some of his former DEA handlers and eventually returned to Miami. In 2016, he met DEA agent John Costanzo, who was supervising agents investigating Colombian businessman Alex Saab, a suspected bag man for Venezuela's Maduro. In 2023, Hernández testified against Costanzo and another former DEA agent convicted of taking bribes from narco defense attorneys. Hernández turned the tables on the DEA around the same time he was charged alongside University of Miami professor Bruce Bagley for helping move $3 million on behalf of Saab, who prosecutors said was secretly negotiating a deal to betray Maduro. Those charges remain under seal. In the complaint unsealed Wednesday, the FBI that Hernández is serving a term of probation on a federal conviction for conspiracy to commit money laundering that is set to end in May 2027.
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Longtime DEA informant charged in alleged scheme to extort high-level cocaine traffickers
A drug informant who helped the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration build some of its biggest cases has been arrested and charged with scheming to extort major cocaine traffickers facing extradition from Colombia and the Dominican Republic. Jorge Hernández, 57, was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday with one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud. He remains in custody after being arrested and making his initial court appearance Wednesday in federal court in Fort Lauderdale. Court papers allege that Hernández operated a scheme starting in 2020 in which he pretended to be a paralegal who, for the right price, could obtain lighter sentences for drug kingpins, according to 17-page FBI affidavit. The FBI alleged that Hernández demanded payments of $1 million from six suspected drug traffickers who ended up surrendering or being extradited to the U.S. In exchange for the payments — which came in the form of cash, jewelry, properties and vehicles in Colombia — Hernández guaranteed short prison sentences that would be served 'in an apartment similar to being on house arrest,' the court papers said. But Hernández never delivered on his promises, nor did he have authority to offer such leniency. As the traffickers who thought they were buying influence grew upset, he would deny responsibility and shift blame to the traffickers' attorneys, the FBI said. Nestor Menendez, an attorney who represented Hernández at his initial appearance, declined to comment. In two decades as a confidential informant, Hernández had been one of federal law enforcement's most prolific case-makers, providing the types of tips and information that led to prosecutions of high seas drug smugglers, a former University of Miami money laundering expert and a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Better known in law enforcement circles by his Spanish nickname Boliche — bowling ball — the beefy, bald-headed Colombian was also the star witness in the 2023 bribery trial of two former DEA supervisors convicted for leaking information on ongoing drug investigations. He got his start as an informant in 2000 shortly after he was arrested in Venezuela, where he had fled to escape drug dealers seeking to kill him, according to a 2023 investigation by The Associated Press. After bribing officials to secure his release, he approached the DEA, admitting to killing three people during his days as a drug runner near his home along Colombia's Caribbean coast. He then began helping the DEA build some of its biggest cases. Agents grew so reliant on Hernández's network of criminal associates across the Western hemisphere that they set him up with a phone and desk at a federal anti-narcotics task force, the AP found. The DEA terminated his cooperation agreement in 2008, court records show, after authorities discovered he had threatened to expose informants as snitches unless they paid him to keep quiet. But he kept close to some of his former DEA handlers and eventually returned to Miami. In 2016, he met DEA agent John Costanzo, who was supervising agents investigating Colombian businessman Alex Saab, a suspected bag man for Venezuela's Maduro. In 2023, Hernández testified against Costanzo and another former DEA agent convicted of taking bribes from narco defense attorneys. Hernández turned the tables on the DEA around the same time he was charged alongside University of Miami professor Bruce Bagley for helping move $3 million on behalf of Saab, who prosecutors said was secretly negotiating a deal to betray Maduro. Those charges remain under seal. In the complaint unsealed Wednesday, the FBI that Hernández is serving a term of probation on a federal conviction for conspiracy to commit money laundering that is set to end in May 2027. — Mustian reported from New York.
Los Angeles Times
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Los Tigres del Norte get a New York City street named in their honor
For nearly six decades, Los Tigres del Norte's name has been all over the charts, on countless marquees, seven Grammys and, now, one street in New York City. On Thursday, the historic música Mexicana band showed up to the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, surrounded by fans at the grand presentation of the newly minted Los Tigres del Norte Way. 'Starting today, a street in Brooklyn carries the name of Los Tigres del Norte,' the group wrote in an Instagram post Thursday evening. 'Thank you for walking with us, today and always.' The Sinaloense legends' street sign is located on 5th Avenue and 47th Street in Brooklyn, surrounded by a litany of Latino restaurants. 'We've been coming to New York for so many years,' vocalist and accordion player Jorge Hernandez said in a TV interview Wednesday with New York's Fox 5. 'We've been able to connect with the community, so that's why we've been selected today to have the street and we are very happy to be honored tomorrow.' The road naming occurred on the same day as the release of the 'La Puerta Negra' artists' latest five-track EP 'La Lotería.' The title track is a sociopolitical corrido that uses the imagery of the popular bingo-like Mexican game to comment on topics like immigration and the past criminality of the current U.S. president. The band will play its first-ever show at New York's historic Madison Square Garden on May 24 to wrap up their current East Coast stint before performing June 13 at the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and June 15 in Del Mar, Calif. However, Thursday's festivities weren't the first time that the 'Jaula de Oro' band was honored with a street-naming ceremony. A strip of W. 26th Street in Chicago is honorarily named after the 12-time Latin Grammy winners. The street runs through the Windy City's Little Village neighborhood, which is known as the 'Mexico of the Midwest' due to upwards of 80% of its residents being of Mexican descent. Los Tigres del Norte were feted locally in 2014 in the most L.A. way possible — with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In June, the group will receive lifetime recognition for its members' continued immigration advocacy from Monterey County officials ahead of their tour date in Salinas, Calif.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Grammy-winning band Los Tigres Del Norte speak about immigrants' right in San Jose
SAN JOSE, Calif. - A beloved San Jose band is speaking out about immigrants' rights. Los Tigres Del Norte has won seven Grammy Awards, 12 Latin Grammys and has album sales in excess of 32-million. But today they showed up at Sacred Heart Community Service, not to sing but to speak out. "We are afraid. People are afraid. And we want nothing to happen to our community," says Jorge Hernandez, member of Los Tigres Del Norte. The band says Trump-era immigration policies have people on edge. They're afraid to go to work and school and afraid to access services at places like Sacred group says the community that has supported them wholeheartedly now needs some support in return. "I think it's very important because right now is when we need to support ourselves and to let people know they have rights too," says another band member, Hernan Hernandez. And so, Los Tigres Del Norte spoke about standing up for your rights and about standing hope this, along with reassurances from local leaders and police, will help. "Seeing prominent artists that are able to say we care about what's happening in our community, and we stand up here with you and for you and want to reassure them that they're not alone, that speaks volumes," says Poncho Guevara, executive director of Sacred Heart Community Service. The message resonated with those there for services, among them Alejandra Arrias. She says she was already a Los Tigres fan but feels an even deeper connection now. "They're known everywhere. So having them come here and say we're with you guys, we're supporting you, that's just amazing. We feel more empowered," says Arias. The band took time out of their tour schedule for today's event. They'll be back in San Jose for a concert at the SAP Center on February 15th.
