A former U.S. Border Patrol agent arrested more than two years ago on suspicion of more than $1 million in bribes will stand trial next year, and two of his indicted co-conspirators are awaiting to be sentenced after pleading guilty to their role in the bribery scheme.
Carlos Victor Passapera Pinott is set to stand trial starting April 3, 2023, in front of U.S. District Judge Jennifer Zipps. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on 14 charges which allege he used his position as a federal agent with USBP’s Tucson Sector – Ajo Station to get illicit drugs and illegal border crossers past checkpoints.
Federal prosecutors alleged Passapera, 55, illegally accepted at least $1.1 million in cash, jewelry, and other types of payment between June 2019 to August 2020. Court records show nearly $330,000 cash was seized from Passapera’s house at the time of his arrest, while $311,000 cash was found in a safe deposit box Passapera had access to and $40,000 cash was found in one of his vehicles.
Passapera has been held in pretrial detention since his arrest in August 2020 following an investigation by various federal agencies. Two of his indicted co-conspirators have pleaded guilty in recent months on charges connected to bribes they claim to have paid Passapera.
Luis Alfredo Quintero-Gonzalez pleaded guilty in August to bribing the then-agent with $64,000 in payments to get drugs and border crossers past USBP checkpoints on several occasions in 2019. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 2.
Meanwhile, Omar Natalio Martinez-Fontes accepted a plea deal last month in which he admitted smuggling at least 13 illegal border crossers with Passapera’s assistance over several months ending in January 2020.
“Throughout the conspiracy, Martinez-Fontes and Passapera exchanged phone messages about cash payments to Passapera for his assistance to smuggle the illegal aliens. Martinez-Fontes paid Passapera at least $8,000 per alien, for a total of at least $104,000 in bribe payments during the course of the conspiracy,” according to the plea agreement.
Zipps has not yet announced a sentencing date for Martinez-Fontes.
Passapera’s trial is expected to last 15 days, according to court records. But getting his case in front of a jury is taking longer than normal.
Earlier this year, defense attorney Francisco Leon told Zipps that Passapera was being housed in administrative segregation due to his work history, which was creating “significant difficulties” for Leon in scheduling appointments with his client. As was the fact Zipps barred the defense attorney from leaving copies of most case documents with Passapera at the detention facility, Leon told the judge.
Clay Hernandez replaced Leon as Passapera’s defense counsel in April. Hernandez advised Zipps in July that he needed more time “to complete reviewing over 10,000 pages of disclosure with his client” before trial. The attorney also noted Passapera claimed to have “never reviewed” his disclosure with the prior attorney.
As a result, Zipps delayed the trial until next spring. She also set a status conference for Feb. 10 with a plea deadline of March 17.
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