TRENTON, N.J. - A DeKalb, Illinois, man was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for his role in an international drug trafficking organization, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Henry Zamora, 38, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan to the first count of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute heroin. Judge Sheridan imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From June 2014 through December 2014, Zamora engaged in a conspiracy with members of a drug trafficking organization, with cells operating in New Jersey, to transport and distribute bulk quantities of heroin. On Nov. 21, 2014, Zamora was arrested while transporting four kilograms of heroin contained in a hidden compartment in his vehicle. Following the arrest, officers recovered an additional two kilograms of heroin from his home.
In December 2014, co-defendants Dany Francisco-Valerio, 44, and Vionel Rondon-Cortorreal, 29, both of Bronx, New York, conspired with members of the drug trafficking organization to transport and distribute kilogram quantities of heroin. On Dec. 24, 2014, Francisco-Valerio and Rondon-Cortorreal were arrested in Warren County, New Jersey, while transporting 15 kilograms contained in a hidden compartment in a vehicle they were operating. Francisco-Valerio and Rondon-Cortorreal both pleaded guilty before Judge Sheridan to informations charging them with conspiracy to distribute heroin. Francisco-Valerio has been sentenced to 51 months in prison by Judge Sheridan while Rondon-Cortorreal is awaiting sentencing.
Two other members of the conspiracy, Harry Madrid, 26, of Anaheim, California, and his brother, Wilson Madrid, 32, of Norcross, Georgia, previously entered guilty pleas for their roles in conspiring to launder drug proceeds on behalf of the organization. Harry Madrid has been sentenced to 46 months in prison and Wilson Madrid has been sentenced to seven years in prison by Judge Sheridan.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Sheridan sentenced Zamora to five years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito praised special agents of the DEA, Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Valerie A. Nickerson, officers from the N.J. State Police under the direction of Acting Superintendent Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, and officers from the DeKalb (Illinois) Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gene Lowrey, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Kearney of the U.S. Attorney’s Office OC/Gangs Unit in Newark and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamari Buxton of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: Andrea Bergman Esq., Trenton
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
