NewsWhore
12-23-2008, 02:00 PM
In a deal with New York prosecutors, former Dominican army captain Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo has agreed to plead guilty to charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. In return, charges against eight members of his family, based in the DR, will be dropped. Quirilio Paulino Castillo, Zaira Castillo Ramirez, Luis Marmolejos, Felicita Consuelo Medrano, Elba Feliz Matos de Marmolejos, Ricardo Encarnacion, Anderson Paulino Ubri and Diomaris Marmolejos had all been charged with involvement in Paulino's drug enterprise. Also, the five-year prison sentence given to Belkis Elizabeth Urbi Medrano will be rescinded. As part of the agreement, Quirino's relatives and others close to him will travel to an unspecified location, not necessarily the United States, to protect them from revenge by organized crime rings.
As part of the deal, Paulino's sentence will also be reduced to 20 years, down from a possible 50. Quirino has been in a New York state jail since he was arrested and extradited to the US in 2004. Hoy reports that the State of New York has forfeited any claims to Quirino's assets in the DR, valued at an estimated US$14.5 million. Hoy also reports that Quirino has at least RD$325 million in bonds in the DR's BanReservas. The Dominican government commits to assign these assets to drug prevention and combating initiatives.
Quirino, also know as "El Don," was arrested on 18 December 2004 with a 1,387kg cocaine shipment, with an estimated value of RD$900 million, the largest in the country so far. He was extradited to the US on 19 February 2005 to stand trial with at the New York Southern District Court. The reciprocal judicial agreement was signed on 19 December, and announced in Santo Domingo by David Searby, US Embassy press officer, and Dominican prosecutor Alejandro Moscoso Segarra.
Quirino's defense lawyers argued that no one could be tried twice for the same crime, especially with the ongoing case in New York. Thus the local court desisted so the case could proceed in New York. El Caribe newspaper reports from its sources that as a result of the investigations in the United States it has been established that Quirino was only a pawn used by more powerful international drug traffickers. El Caribe says news will soon be released on what the former army officer has revealed about his accomplices and other members of organized crime rings.
Paulino Castillo is on trial for having introduced shipments of 30,000 kilograms of cocaine to the US from 1996 to 2002. US prosecutors Allan Norman and Peter Reilly acted on behalf of the US justice system in signing the agreement with the local prosecutors. The agreement does not amount to impunity for Paulino Castillo, and releases information that will be useful in dismantling drug trafficking structures that were active in the DR and abroad. The successful extraditions announced on November 16, 2005 were the result of a joint investigation between the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the DR's National Drug Control Department (DNCD).
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#10)
As part of the deal, Paulino's sentence will also be reduced to 20 years, down from a possible 50. Quirino has been in a New York state jail since he was arrested and extradited to the US in 2004. Hoy reports that the State of New York has forfeited any claims to Quirino's assets in the DR, valued at an estimated US$14.5 million. Hoy also reports that Quirino has at least RD$325 million in bonds in the DR's BanReservas. The Dominican government commits to assign these assets to drug prevention and combating initiatives.
Quirino, also know as "El Don," was arrested on 18 December 2004 with a 1,387kg cocaine shipment, with an estimated value of RD$900 million, the largest in the country so far. He was extradited to the US on 19 February 2005 to stand trial with at the New York Southern District Court. The reciprocal judicial agreement was signed on 19 December, and announced in Santo Domingo by David Searby, US Embassy press officer, and Dominican prosecutor Alejandro Moscoso Segarra.
Quirino's defense lawyers argued that no one could be tried twice for the same crime, especially with the ongoing case in New York. Thus the local court desisted so the case could proceed in New York. El Caribe newspaper reports from its sources that as a result of the investigations in the United States it has been established that Quirino was only a pawn used by more powerful international drug traffickers. El Caribe says news will soon be released on what the former army officer has revealed about his accomplices and other members of organized crime rings.
Paulino Castillo is on trial for having introduced shipments of 30,000 kilograms of cocaine to the US from 1996 to 2002. US prosecutors Allan Norman and Peter Reilly acted on behalf of the US justice system in signing the agreement with the local prosecutors. The agreement does not amount to impunity for Paulino Castillo, and releases information that will be useful in dismantling drug trafficking structures that were active in the DR and abroad. The successful extraditions announced on November 16, 2005 were the result of a joint investigation between the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the DR's National Drug Control Department (DNCD).
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#10)