Second alien smuggling coordinator pleads guilty

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - On October 6, 2022, Omar Natalio Martinez Fontes pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Bribery and Alien Smuggling.

Between June 2019 and January 2020, Fontes paid United States Border Patrol (USBP) agent Carlos Passapera thousands of dollars in cash bribes.

Not only that, another alien smuggling coordinator, Luis Alfredo Quintero-Gonzalez, previously pleaded guilty to the same crime.

For further context, these crimes were in regards to smuggling undocumented noncitizens into the United States.

Furthermore, a conviction for Bribery and Alien Smuggling carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

So far, Quintero-Gonzalez's sentencing begins December 2, 2022 and Fontes's sentencing begins December 20, 2022.

To read more about the case, click here.