3 FOUND GUILTY IN "MEXICAN MAFIA' DRUG CASE

Mar. 27, 2001 - Three members of the Denver branch of the "Mexican mafia"
were convicted Monday on 27 counts of distributing cocaine and methamphetamine.

Manuel Carrillo, Raul Atayde and Hector Gonzalez, all of Denver, face from
30 years to life in prison for acting as middlemen between suppliers and
drug users. Sentencing is set for June.

Carrillo, considered the ringleader, defended himself without a lawyer
during the five-week trial. The six-man, six-woman jury took three days to
reach the verdict.

The case stemmed from a 2 1/2-year federal probe that ended in August 1999
with the arrest of 35 drug-selling suspects. Ten people pleaded guilty, one
was released, and two other trials are scheduled for May and June.

"This was a significant statement of guilt that the jury found for a major
drug organization," said U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland. "The term "Mexican
mafia' was something they used to describe themselves; they were authorized
to use it. It's a term of consequence within their community."

During the trial, prosecutors said the volume of drug deals was staggering.
A wiretap placed on Carrillo's home in May 1999 stunned even veteran drug
investigators, officials said.

"It was unbelievable, the amount of calls and drugs they talked about,"
said prosecutor Al LaCabe. "Right from the start, it was deal after deal
after deal."

None of the deals involved quantities much larger than 1 kilogram. The
majority of deals involved 50 grams or less. Testimony showed that Carrillo
liked to buy a kilo of cocaine for about $19,000 and move it quickly for
$21,000.