News (Media Awareness Project) - US: Informant Lured Him Into A Costly Deal - Win At All Costs |
| Title: | US: Informant Lured Him Into A Costly Deal - Win At All Costs |
| Published On: | 1998-11-23 |
| Source: | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-06 19:38:13 |
INFORMANT LURED HIM INTO A COSTLY DEAL
It was the kind of part-time job that never makes the classified pages.
Albert Barruetta needed money. The U.S. Customs Department needed to nab
drug dealers. So Barruetta told agents he had a line on a major
methamphetamine dealer in Pasadena, Calif.
Barruetta knew no major drug dealers, but he did know Cristobal
Crosthwaite-Villa, a Mexican citizen whose car U.S. Customs officials had
seized in September 1992 at Tijuana, Mexico, as he was trying to cross the
border illegally.
Barruetta tried to fleece Crosthwaite, telling him that for $1,000 he would
not only get his car back but would get him permanent residency status in
the United States. Then he learned Crosthwaite sometimes used drugs, so he
told Customs agents that Crosthwaite was a major drug dealer.
The agency, without checking Crosthwaites background, agreed to hire
Barruetta as a confidential informant and pay him, on a contingency basis,
cash for each drug dealer he could lure into a sting operation.
Barruetta began cajoling Crosthwaite to find him a source who might buy
methamphetamine. Crosthwaite had no luck until he encountered Bobby Thomas,
who had used drugs with Crosthwaite in the past and, on one or two
occasions, had sold Crosthwaite a few $20 doses of the drug.
Barruetta offered to sell Thomas drugs, saying the deal would also get
Crosthwaites car returned. Thomas told him he couldnt help. Barruetta
kept pressing him with offers to sell him cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine.
Thomas finally relented, agreeing to buy three pounds of methamphetamine in
the hopes of helping Crosthwaite get his car.
Thomas, who had no prior criminal record, was arrested, found guilty and
sentenced to more than 12 years in prison. The amount of drugs Barruetta
had pressed Thomas to buy determined the sentence length.
In January, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Thomass
conviction, in part because hed been cajoled and entrapped into committing
the crime. He is awaiting a new trial.
Checked-by: Richard Lake
It was the kind of part-time job that never makes the classified pages.
Albert Barruetta needed money. The U.S. Customs Department needed to nab
drug dealers. So Barruetta told agents he had a line on a major
methamphetamine dealer in Pasadena, Calif.
Barruetta knew no major drug dealers, but he did know Cristobal
Crosthwaite-Villa, a Mexican citizen whose car U.S. Customs officials had
seized in September 1992 at Tijuana, Mexico, as he was trying to cross the
border illegally.
Barruetta tried to fleece Crosthwaite, telling him that for $1,000 he would
not only get his car back but would get him permanent residency status in
the United States. Then he learned Crosthwaite sometimes used drugs, so he
told Customs agents that Crosthwaite was a major drug dealer.
The agency, without checking Crosthwaites background, agreed to hire
Barruetta as a confidential informant and pay him, on a contingency basis,
cash for each drug dealer he could lure into a sting operation.
Barruetta began cajoling Crosthwaite to find him a source who might buy
methamphetamine. Crosthwaite had no luck until he encountered Bobby Thomas,
who had used drugs with Crosthwaite in the past and, on one or two
occasions, had sold Crosthwaite a few $20 doses of the drug.
Barruetta offered to sell Thomas drugs, saying the deal would also get
Crosthwaites car returned. Thomas told him he couldnt help. Barruetta
kept pressing him with offers to sell him cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine.
Thomas finally relented, agreeing to buy three pounds of methamphetamine in
the hopes of helping Crosthwaite get his car.
Thomas, who had no prior criminal record, was arrested, found guilty and
sentenced to more than 12 years in prison. The amount of drugs Barruetta
had pressed Thomas to buy determined the sentence length.
In January, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Thomass
conviction, in part because hed been cajoled and entrapped into committing
the crime. He is awaiting a new trial.
Checked-by: Richard Lake
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