El Chapo Trial: Drug deals, DEA bathroom impregnation and the Murder of Kato

Chivis Martinez borderland Beat-with material from Keegan Hamilton

Pedro Flores returned to give testimony

Audio was played for the jury of two phone calls that Pedro recorded on November 15, 2008. In the calls Chapo is organizing details of a 20 kilo heroin deal in Chicago.

In the calls:

Chapo, agrees to a discount of $5000 per kilo. He also wants a courier to pick up his money in Chicago and says he'll call Pedro back.

The second call comes in a half hour later on the same day.  Chapo again mentions, that Chicago is the pickup point and even mentions his courier's name (Lazaro). Then he puts another guy on the line to give Flores Lazaro's number and to set Benjamin as Flores code name.

This is the transcript is of two calls made in November 15, 2008.  There is a third call of Vincente Zamabada and Pedro, that I will post at a later date.  They are from court documents.  Chapo’s and Pedro’s name are both abbreviated.  Pedro was not with his brother Margarito in the October meeting in the Sinaloa Sierras, Pedro refers to this in the conversation.

Transcript click on to view and enlarge

Cross Examination-The murder of Latin Kings leader “Kato”

Purpura cross examined Pedro, as reported yesterday there was a conflict with Lichtman.

Purpura brought up the murder of Latin Kings gang leader, Rudy Rangel aka Kato. Kato and the Flores twins grew up together in the South West Chicago, and sometimes supplied them with cocaine.

Kato was murdered in aChicago barbershop in 2003.

On his chest was a tattoo that read: "Destined Forever My Queen Valerie.”

Valerie is Valerie Gaytan, the daughter of a Chicago cop.

Shortly after Rangel was murdered, she became romantically involved with Margarito Flores. They later fled to Mexico together and got married.

Purpura quoted from Pedro’s statements of the past about Kato, where he called Rangel a "thief," and suggested he was stealing cocaine from them.

In referencing the murder, Purpura asked Pedro, "You're going to tell the jury you didn't contract to have that happen?"

Pedro denied it.

Shortly after Rangel was murdered, Purpura noted that Pedro paid over $200K for his brother and Valerie to take a trip to Vegas with a bunch of their friends to see the De La Hoya vs. Mosley fight. They had 60 rooms at the Mandalay Bay, "lobster and steak for everyone."

Purpura noted that the Vegas trip was just three months after Rangel was killed, and that Valerie was pregnant at the time. He asked Pedro again, "You and your brother didn't kill Rudy Rangel, [Kato] not for a woman or 200 kilos [of stolen cocaine]?"

Pedro again denied it again, but the implication had been driven home.

Sam Charles of the Chicago Sun, tweeted that he sat down with Kato’s mother earlier this year.  It has been 15 years after the murder of her son but she is convinced it was the Flores twins who were responsible for the killing.

Impregnation in the DEA bathroom

Next Purpura ‘went there’ with Pedro impregnating his wife in the DEA bathroom.

Pedro managed to get his wife pregnant while in DEA custody. It was in an office building where he was being debriefed. His family was allowed to visit. There were agents all over, but he followed her into the bathroom "while they were distracted."

Purpura followed up by asking a question about how long Pedro and his wife were in the bathroom while the DEA agents were distracted: "I don't want to ask the amount of time but…" That prompted lots of laughter in the courtroom, including from Chapo.

Side bar conversation where Pupura says he is going to ask about the impregnation 

Purpura dove into some of the assets accrued by Pedro from his drug trafficking:  He owned 9 houses, 12 tractor trailers ($150K each), and 40 cars, including three armored vehicles, a Ferrari, and a Lamborghini. Pedro also owned 22-26 ATVs, which cost $10K each.

Purpura brought up the book Cartel Wives, co-authored by Pedro and Margarito's wives under the fake names Mia and Olivia Flores. Purpura said they received a $500K advance, plus an undisclosed amount for film production rights. He suggested the trial would make them more money.

Purpura: "It helps sell the book and sell the movie with the more dirt we can throw at The Man, El Chapo, isn't that right?"

Pedro Flores: "I dunno if I agree with you, sir."

Audio