In El Paso today, Lawrence Madrid, a 54-year-old former Supervisory Customs and Border Protection Officer, was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for alien smuggling and accepting a bribe announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Assistant Special Agent in Charge Stephen C. Adaway, (ASAC) Las Cruces; and, Department of Homeland Security-Office of Inspector General Investigations Special Agent in Charge Javy Pedroza.
On May 26, 2016, a federal jury in El Paso found Madrid guilty of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain, aiding and abetting alien smuggling for financial gain, and two substantive counts of accepting a bribe.
According to court records, from August 2010 to September 2011, Madrid conspired with others to encourage/induce undocumented aliens to come to, enter, and reside in the United States without proper authorization. As his part of the conspiracy, Lawrence Madrid accepted money for using his official position to allow undocumented aliens to be smuggled through the ports of entry in El Paso. In addition, the federal jury found that on two separate occasions Madrid accepted money to allow an undocumented alien to enter the United States without proper authorization through the pedestrian lanes of a port of entry.
An arrest warrant is in effect for Madrid’s 39-year-old wife, Odet. She failed to appear for trial and is considered a fugitive. Her $10,000 appearance bond has been forfeited to the Government. Odet Madrid-Corchado is charged with conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain, one substantive count of alien smuggling for financial gain and one count of bribery of a public official. Upon conviction, Odet Madrid-Corchado faces not more than ten years imprisonment on the conspiracy charge, between three and ten years imprisonment for the substantive alien smuggling charge, and not more than 15 years imprisonment for the bribery charge.
A third defendant in this case, 46-year-old undocumented alien Maria Guadalupe Jaime-Hernandez, is also considered a fugitive after failing to appear for sentencing earlier this month. On May 5, 2016, Jaime-Hernandez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain. Her $10,000 appearance bond has been forfeited to the Government and a warrant has been issued for her arrest.
This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Las Cruces Office together with the Department of Homeland Security-Office of Inspector General Investigations. Assistant United States Attorneys Greg McDonald and Robert Almonte prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
