Alfredo Mochomo Beltran Leyva hangs hopes on appeal

By Chivis Borderland Beat Thank you Chema

 prison photo

Mochomo has filed an appeal. His legal team has grown to four attorneys.  And he has a good chance of being successful in appeals court.  What a win takes shape in, is difficult to speculate.  But, as it stands, he is doomed to leave prison in a pine box.  One would surmise anything besting that scenario is a win.

Alfredo “Mochomo” Beltran Leyva, was handed down a rare life sentence, that is Life Without Parole, he was 36 when arrested in Mexico, he will die in a U.S. prison.

Only 1/3 of 1 percent of all drug cases in a life sentence being imposed.    Most cases end with a deal being entered to and a favorable sentence given to drug offenders.  While the pragmatism of why deals make sense, is clear, the U.S. gives away too much, and too much of the time.  In addition to handing down sentences that are illogical and without parity. 

Years of investigations, tax funds, time and even lives freely expended on cases that only end anticlimactically with weak sentences.  Compounded by the ugly practice of using the criminals as cooperatives," testifying" in other drug cases.  

Too often testimony is lacking substantive evidence to support claims, just the good word of a really bad guy cutting a sweet deal. 

Alfredo got screwed, whereas every other narco big, including real monsters to humanity, cut deals.  Alfredo plead guilty, without a deal, adding salt to the wound, he was not given credit for his plea because “he did not accept full responsibility”.  He says he was a member working for his brother, responsible for shipments, not a capo.  U.S. says to the contrary. The U.S. wasn’t even after Alfredo, not named on indictments issued for BLO.  Not until after Arturo was killed and Alfredo was on track to end his prison sentence in Mexico.

How the DEA spun Alfredo into the Thor of Narcos

Arturo Alfredo one of the narco “Goliaths”......
“Alfredo Beltran Leyva is one of the ‘Goliaths’ of Mexican drug traffickers known for his savage business tactics and responsible for flooding the United States with illegal drugs,” said Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New York Division. “This sentencing exemplifies law enforcement’s commitment to bringing justice to the victims of drug abuse through successful prosecutions of the highest echelon of drug traffickers. 

“Alfredo Beltran Leyva spent decades at the head of a criminal organization responsible for trafficking large amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine into the U.S.,” said Assistant Director Richardson. “Today’s sentencing marks an end to Alfredo Beltran Leyva's reign of terror, and demonstrates that the FBI and our law enforcement partners around the globe will aggressively pursue and bring justice to those individuals who use violence and intimidation to threaten our communities.”

Right...

Most federal prisoners will be released from prison eventually, but a small portion of federal offenders will spend the rest of their lives incarcerated. Some of these offenders were sentenced specifically to life imprisonment, while others were sentenced to a term of imprisonment so long that the sentence will often amount to a life imprisonment sentence regardless of the age of the offender. 

In most of these cases where the federal sentencing guidelines called for a lengthy sentence,  appear to have influenced the court to impose the sentence. In a substantial number of these cases, a mandatory minimum penalty also had an important role, by causing the  sentencing point/scale be determined under the sentencing guidelines, to be much higher than it would have been had no minimum penalty applied.

While these life sentences are imposed only a small fraction of the time (Federal) the impact is great and determined differently than all other cases.

Alfredo deseerved prison time, even he says that.  But when one compares to the criminality of others  who will one day be free, like La Barbie, who brought execution videos to Mexico, how can any reasonable person claim that is “best case justice” for the American people?

click any image to enlarge