Former border officer sentenced to 24 months
A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer was sentenced to 24 months in a federal prison by District Judge Hilda Tagle on Tuesday for alien smuggling and bribery.
Guadalupe Garza, 64, was originally charged with 13 counts of conspiring to transport aliens, transporting them and bringing them into the country. In return, according to the charges, he received an unspecified quantity of Cialis pills, which are used for erectile dysfunction, $7,500 in cash and an unspecified sexual device.
Last year Garza pleaded guilty to two of the counts of criminal wrongdoing in a "cold plea," meaning a plea agreement was not struck with the U.S. Attorney's Office, court records show.
"Garza was convicted in December of last year following his guilty plea to bringing an alien into the United States for private financial gain and for accepting a bribe in his capacity as a government official," said a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
He pleaded guilty to the charge of bringing an undocumented immigrant into the United States on July 12, 2007.
The former CBP field operations officer also pleaded guilty to bribery, acknowledging that he demanded and received "approximately $7,500 in cash to influence an official act - to allow illegal aliens to enter the United States," the agency reported.
In addition to the 24 months in prison, Garza also received 24 months of supervised release. Supervised release means that after leaving prison, he'll continue to be monitored by authorities for two years and be subject to other restrictions.
