A U.S. Border Patrol agent with the Tucson Sector who resigned after his arrest in 2020 on federal charges of money laundering, bribery, and drug trafficking is set to stand trial next month, after a judge refused to delay the trial for an eighth time.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer Zipps announced on Feb. 1 that the jury trial of Carlos Victor Passapera Pinott will begin March 15 despite difficulties defense attorney Francisco Leon is having in scheduling meetings with Passapera, who is housed in administrative segregation at a detention facility. Passapera, 54, has been in pretrial custody since his August 2020 arrest.
Leon recently asked for a 60-day continuance of the March trial date and a February plea deadline, citing problems in communicating with Passapera. The attorney told Zipps he has only been able to meet with Passapera “very briefly” due to difficulties arranging legal visits amid COVID-19 restrictions.
In addition, Leon pointed to a protective order issued by the Court which prohibits him from providing Passapera copies of documents disclosed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Instead, the attorney must be with Passapera when any of the materials are reviewed, making discussions with his client about the government’s case “a time-consuming endeavor,” according to Leon.
Zipps denied the requested delay despite a lack of objection by federal prosecutors. She suggested, however, that the March trial could be pushed back if Leon is unable to resolve the legal visits issue. In fact, “technical difficulties” at the unidentified detention facility prevented Passapera from participating in last week’s motion hearing.
According to court documents, Passapera moved to Arizona in 2010 when he was sworn in as a USBP agent assigned to the Ajo Station, which is part of the Tucson Sector covering Cochise, Pima, and Santa Cruz counties.
Passapera was taken into custody Aug. 9, 2020 after investigators say he traveled from his home in Buckeye to a remote area of Arizona west of the Lukeville Port of Entry. He then drove to Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix where agents saw him place two duffel bags into another vehicle which arrived at the airport shortly after Passapera.
Federal authorities stopped the other vehicle as it left the airport and found nearly 50 pounds of cocaine and 350,000 fentanyl pills in the bags. They also found several packages of heroin and unprocessed fentanyl.
Investigators executed a search warrant at Passapera’s residence, where they seized about $329,000 in cash. An additional $40,000 cash was found in the vehicle Passapera drove to the airport. The next day, the FBI located $311,000 in cash in a safe deposit box leased by Passapera and his wife, the federal indictment notes.
In addition, bank records show the couple deposited $125,000 in cash into various bank accounts during a seven-month period through April 2020. They also made several large cash purchases, despite the fact Passapera declared bankruptcy in 2015 when he reported net income from the USBP of only $5,000 a month.
Passapera is also accused of defrauding the U.S. government by collecting salary payments for several hours, even days, he did not work in 2020. In all, Passapera is alleged to have received at least $1.1 million in illicit payments of cash, jewelry, and other items through illegal activities from June 2019 through August 2020, court documents show.
The 14 charges against Passapera also include possession with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl; carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime; and conspiracy to transport illegal aliens for profit.
Dozens of text messages are described in public records suggesting Passapera relied on his position as a uniformed and armed federal agent, along with his USBP vehicle, to smuggle drugs and people into the U.S. as far back as 2019. Some of those text messages were sent between Passapera and his wife, prosecutors allege.
If convicted of all charges, Passapera faces a mandatory minimum 10-year prison term although he could be sentenced to life in prison. The government is seeking forfeiture of the currency seized from Passapera and his wife, along with titled property in Navajo County, two vehicles, and even a diamond ring which federal investigators reportedly took off the wife’s finger.
The issue of Passapera’s continued pretrial detention has been a point of contention since his arrest when a federal magistrate issued a no-bail detention order. At the time, the judge cited concerns coming up with a condition or combination of conditions which would “reasonably assure” Passapera’s appearance at future court proceedings including trial.
Even electronic surveillance, such as an ankle monitor, would not prevent the defendant from fleeing, the judge noted. In addition, Passapera has few ties to Arizona, and although born in the U.S., he was raised in Puerto Rico where he has family and where he and his wife of 25 years frequently visited in the weeks before his arrest.
A subsequent motion to grant Passapera pretrial release was denied, court records show.
