Home Miami Press Releases 2009 Former ICE Agent Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of Justice
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Former ICE Agent Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office December 10, 2009
  • Southern District of Florida (305) 961-9001

Jeffrey H. Sloman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, Gene Morrison, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Washington Field Office, and Steven J. Mocsary, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of Professional Responsibility in Miami, announced that defendant Richard Padilla Cramer pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Paul Huck to a Superseding Information charging him with conspiracy to obstruct justice. Sentencing has been scheduled for February 18, 2010. Cramer faces a possible maximum statutory sentence of twenty (20) years in prison.

According to the Information and statements made in open court during today’s plea, Cramer assisted Mexican drug traffickers and money launderers to obtain confidential information from U.S. law enforcement databases, including the National Criminal Information Center and the criminal information systems of the Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). During the time at issue, Cramer was a Resident Agent in Charge with ICE and was stationed in Guadalajara, Mexico.

According to the one-count felony Information and the facts discussed in court during the guilty plea, in January 2006, a Mexican money launderer who was hiding in Miami wanted to return to Mexico, but needed to determine whether it was safe to do so. He arranged with criminal associates in Mexico to have his name and the name of his partner run in U.S. law enforcement databases to determine whether there were any arrest warrants or investigations pending, which would interfere with his ability to return to Mexico. Thereafter, the money launderer was advised by his Mexican associates that they had a U.S. law enforcement contact who could obtain that information for him. This individual turned out to be Cramer, who arranged to have the two men’s names run through U.S. law enforcement databases. Printouts of these criminal records checks were provided to the launderer in Miami, who used the information to safely return to Mexico after the records checks revealed no pending warrants or investigations.

Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General with the assistance of ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, and the City of North Miami Beach Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Getchell.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

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