Former Mexican governor who took bribes from drug smugglers pleads guilty to laundering money that was used to purchase properties in Texas
- Tomás Yarrington, the ex-governor of Tamaulipas, Mexico, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering Thursday in a federal court in Texas
- The 64-year-old governed the northeastern state of Tamaulipas from 1999 to 2006
- Yarrington is facing up to 20 years in prison; his sentencing date has not been scheduled
- In a 2013 indictment, federal prosecutors accused him of accepting bribes from drug traffickers and the Gulf Cartel
- As part of the payments, Yarrington allowed the traffickers access to smuggle drugs into the United States
- He was also accused of smuggling cocaine to the United States through the Port of Veracruz
A former Mexican governor appeared before a federal Texas court judge Thursday and pleaded guilty to a single count of laundering money.
Tomás Yarrington governed the northeastern state of Tamaulipas from 1999 to 2006 under the then-ruling PRI Party, and came under the radar of United States authorities on allegations that he had accepted kickback payments.
According to a federal indictment filed in 2013 in the Brownsville Division of the Southern District of Texas, Yarrington was on the receiving end of bribes from drug traffickers and the Gulf Cartel who were operating in the border state. In exchange, the then-governor gave his alleged associates the green light to operate and smuggle drugs into the United States.
Federal prosecutors also accused Yarrington of trafficking cocaine to the U.S. via the Port of Veracruz.
Former Mexican governor Tomás Yarrington (second from left) pleaded guilty in a Texas federal court to money laundering charges. Yarrington admitted he used bribes he only received from commercial businesses in Mexico to purchase properties in Texas. The United States government had accused him of receiving kickback payments from drug traffickers and the Gulf Cartel. He faces up to 20 years in prison
Tomás Yarrington (pictured at a May 23, 2005 press conference in Mexico City) pleaded guilty in a Texas federal court to money laundering charges and admitted he used bribes he only received from commercial businesses in Mexico to purchase properties in Texas
Yarrington, pictured with his wife Maria Antonieta Morales Loo, also was accused of smuggling cocaine into the US from the Port of Veracruz
The indictment also showed that Yarrington took bribes from commercial businesses in Mexico.
A construction firm identified as Materiales y Construcciones Villa de Aguayo, S.A. de C.V. benefited from a vast amount of public works projects that were signed off during Yarrington’s governorship. Its owner, Fernando Cano, reportedly paid off Yarrington to buy real estate under fake names for him.
Italian authorities arrested Yarrington on April 9, 2017 and refused to turn him over to Mexican authorities. Instead, the Italian government extradited him to the United States on April 20, 2018.
The 64-year-old reportedly laundered money through the purchase of homes in San Antonio and invested in real estate property in San Antonio and South Padre Island, according to Express News.
Yarrington, seen in the custody of Italian agents in 2018, avoided a life sentence and will have to turn over a waterfront home he owns in Port Isabel
Yarrington avoided a life sentence after prosecutors turned down the opportunity to try him on the more serious offenses, instead reaching a deal with him to accept the money laundering charges that will carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
As part of the plea deal, Yarrington admitted that he used the bribe money he accepted during his term as governor to buy properties in Texas. The payments made to him by the drug traffickers were not a part of the transactions.
The ex-governor was also forced to turn in a waterfront home he owns in Port Isabel.
‘Yarrington received illegal proceeds from individuals and private companies seeking business with the state of Tamaulipas,’ Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Betancourt said in court Thursday.
Advertisement
