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Crime boss pleads guilty as part of deal

By Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 6, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

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The head of a crime family accused of running one of the country's largest and most sophisticated fake document rings pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Denver.

Pedro Castorena-Ibarra is scheduled to be sentenced June 12.

As part of the deal, Castorena-Ibarra, 45, has agreed to provide "substantial assistance" to government authorities in other criminal investigations, according to a court document.

He was scheduled to be debriefed by federal prosecutors from the northern district of Illinois as a prerequisite to any plea deal, the document states.

Authorities said Castorena- Ibarra ran the Castorena Family Organization from the safety of his home in Mexico from at least December 1998 through January 2005.

Members of the organization set up shop in Denver, operating out of hotel rooms, apartments and storage facilities. They created Social Security cards, resident alien cards, driver's licenses and even fake utility bills, which could be used to obtain real documents, authorities said.

Comments

  • February 6, 2009

    7:23 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    gary writes:

    Now you know how all the illegals voted in the last election. Fake documents.
    Oh NO, they do not commit crimes, they are not illegal. They are "immigrants" and we should supply them with everything they need.

    Who will be the first to call me a racist here??

    Enforce all of our laws on all of the illegals...NOW!

    Nuff Said!

  • February 6, 2009

    7:32 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    mdflem51 writes:

    i agree.. but tell us how you really feel..

  • February 6, 2009

    8:08 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Himtngal writes:

    Wonder if Governor Ritter will thank Ice Agent Cory Voorhis for his hard work on this case??? Probably not, since Ritter is pro-illegal alien and an amnesty activist. Be nice if we had a governor who placed American citizens above illegal aliens. If the dems continue to be in charge of Colorado, this state will be the next California.

  • February 6, 2009

    9:43 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    scootertrash writes:

    Gary,
    I agree 100%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • February 6, 2009

    9:47 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    milehighman writes:

    What do you mean next California? It already is!

  • February 6, 2009

    10:18 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Iron writes:

    Gary, I think you'll get far more support for you thoughts that you will opposition.

    Send them all back to mexico where they can drive without licenses and insurance all they want.

  • February 6, 2009

    1:57 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Brittanicus writes:

    While hundreds of thousands of American construction workers are unemployed, businesses across America continue to employ illegal aliens and will be allowed to use Stimulus money to hire hundreds of thousands more illegal alien, this is according to Analyst Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation. The stimulus bill on the Senate floor would provide construction jobs to roughly 300,000 illegal aliens. (UNLESS E-VERIFY IS ADDED PERMANENTLY) America settles roughly 3 million legal immigrants annually, seems to have been forgotten by the national media.
    SAY NO! You might be saving your own job.

    Leave your irate message with the Washington Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

  • February 6, 2009

    5:05 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    finer299 writes:

    Agent Cory Voorhis is a true hero. Our government attempted to railroad this man for trying to get this criminal stopped. What a travesty of justice. Now this criminal can continue to do his dirty work, with his possible short sentence.

    You are witnessing the Mexican take-over of the United States.

    Mexican trucks are now rolling on our highways, replacing American truck drivers.

    Our government is turning a blind eye on false documents. It appears that they are now attempting to kill E-Verify (the most accurate system of verifying that Social Security numbers match the person).

    Our state government is now trying to push a bill that will allow illegal aliens to qualify for in-state tuition in our colleges.

    We are educating their children, providing healthcare, reduced housing costs and food stamps.

    Sleep on citizens, your country is nearly gone!

  • February 6, 2009

    8:05 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Rossputin writes:

    "finer" has it exactly right.

    We have Cory Voorhis to thank for the apprehension of Castorena, and now we have an incompetent and vengeful handful of government bureaucrats trying to ruin a good man's career.

    For the record, I attended Cory's trial and was present for the verdict, and I wrote about the case in two articles for Human Events. If you're interested, here are the links:

    http://www.humanevents.com/article.ph...
    http://www.humanevents.com/article.ph...

  • February 8, 2009

    11:38 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Stan_Weekes writes:

    Thank you Himtngal, finer and Ross for your excellent comments!

    I too attended Special Agent Vorrhis trial. The trumped charges should never have filed. Mr Gray Buckley provided the expertise to acquit and the Governor and CBI owe Cory an apology.

    Thanks to Agent Vorrhis competence and a five yr investigation, this syndicate is shattered. I hope the northern district of Illinois US attorney's office puts the squeeze on him the same way they did Blago.

    For the full story and contact information please visit:
    http://www.corylegaldefense.com/