A Phoenix, Arizona resident and a Mexican national living illegally in Phoenix have been sentenced in federal court for violating the federal “Kingpin” drug-trafficking statute and money laundering. The announcement was made by First Assistant United States Attorney Troy Rivetti. The two men were among 35 individuals charged in a wide-ranging indictment unsealed in January 2024, which detailed their roles in a domestic and international narcotics and money laundering conspiracy involving large amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine.
United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan sentenced Marcos Monarrez Jr., age 26, to life imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release. His father, Marcos Monarrez-Mendoza, age 55, received a sentence of 15 years in prison and will be deported to Mexico after serving his term.
Court documents revealed that from September to November 2022, Monarrez Jr., along with his father as co-leaders of the Monarrez Drug Trafficking Organization based in Phoenix, was intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining significant quantities of illegal drugs from a Mexican supplier. The organization distributed these drugs across the United States, including western Pennsylvania. Both men also facilitated the movement of drug proceeds—over $10,000 by Monarrez Jr. and over $100,000 by Monarrez-Mendoza—by giving the money to couriers who smuggled it into Mexico.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Rivetti stated: “The sentencings of the father/son leaders of this transnational criminal organization today, in addition to the earlier sentencings of nearly two dozen of their co-defendants in the case, are reflective of the extremely serious nature of these charges and the magnitude of the destruction such groups inflict upon our communities. The Monarrez TCO introduced massive amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine into neighborhoods throughout the country, using violence and money laundering to help carry out their drug trafficking. We remain resolute in standing with our law enforcement partners at all levels to investigate and dismantle such networks and protect our communities from these predators.”
FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek added: “Today’s sentencings send a clear message: the FBI and our partners will not allow organized drug networks to crisscross this continent. The flow of these deadly poisons across the border ends right here in our communities where families and lives are destroyed. It fuels addiction, overdoses, and violence. Those who think they can peddle these drugs will be put away for a very long time.”
Eric McLoughlin, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Philadelphia said: “With Marcos Monarrez Jr. and his father, Marcos Monarrez-Mendoza, heading to federal prison, the dismantling of this father-and-son trafficking enterprise has proven that no one is beyond the reach of justice. By working in lockstep with the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and our state and local partners, HSI cut off a pipeline responsible for distributing millions of fentanyl pills, hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine, and multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine into communities here in western Pennsylvania and across the nation. Today’s sentencings demonstrate our unwavering commitment to protect the public and to hold transnational criminal networks fully accountable for the devastation they inflict.”
Monarrez Jr.’s sentencing also included charges from Michigan related to conspiracy to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl between February 2019 and December 2021. He also pleaded guilty to racketeering acts involving bribery conspiracy as well as conspiracy to distribute K2 (synthetic cannabinoids) and money laundering. While detained at Cambria County Prison between July 2023 and December 2023 he used contraband cell phones to continue coordinating drug distribution operations nationwide.
Of those indicted alongside them earlier this year (see news release), most have either pleaded guilty or been convicted; only two defendants await sentencing following their conviction at trial.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Arnold P. Bernard Jr. and Katherine C. Jordan.
The investigation was led by FBI’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency together with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Other agencies involved included IRS–Criminal Investigation division; U.S Postal Inspection Service; FBI Safe Streets Task Force; Cambria County District Attorney’s Office; Cambria County Prison; as well as other local law enforcement bodies.
This prosecution forms part of Operation Take Back America—a Department of Justice initiative aimed at eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations while addressing violent crime across communities.
