Richard P. Cramer, a "former high-ranking Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who was stationed in Mexico before retiring in 2007," was arrested last Friday at his home in Arizona for allegedly smuggling cocaine into the United States as reported by the Associated Press:
The authorities say Mr. Cramer helped a large-scale drug trafficking organization move cocaine into the United States, according to a criminal complaint made public Friday. The complaint says Mr. Cramer provided members of a drug smuggling organization with information from confidential law enforcement databases that told them if one of their members was a government informant. The complaint also says that Mr. Cramer and the smuggling organization invested about $400,000 in a 660-pound shipment of cocaine. The cocaine was shipped from Panama and went through the United States en route to Spain, where it was seized in June 2007. An informant told the drug agency that Mr. Cramer had "very powerful friends" among its agents in Mexico and a strong relationship with one particular member of the smuggling group, according to the complaint. The complaint adds that in August 2007, a member of the smuggling organization convinced Mr. Cramer to retire from the customs agency and begin working directly in drug smuggling and money laundering.
Before his assignment in Mexico, Cramer was the resident agent in charge of the customs and immigration office in Nogales, AZ, and until last week was working as a correctional officer with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department. Michel Marizco for Border Reporter has more details on the criminal allegations against the former ICE agent.
President Felipe Calderon wasn't kidding when he stated that the drug cartels would not be able to smuggle their product without the complicity of corrupt U.S. officials.
