This Pasco father moved hundreds of pounds of drugs and cash for a Mexican cartel

A Pasco father who was the right-hand man for a major Mexican drug trafficker is going to federal prison for 11 years.

Jose L. Muniz oversaw the shipment of large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine to the Tri-Cities, and the cash drug proceeds that were returned to the Bueno Drug Trafficking Organization in Sinaloa, Mexico.

The Bueno family organization is part of the Sinaloa cartel.

Attorney Nicholas W. Marchi described Muniz not as a criminal, but as a man who made a mistake, which was a criminal one.

He said Muniz’s involvement in the conspiracy was very brief, ending with the murder of leader German Bueno-Martinez in 2016.

A Tri-Cities-based family member took over the operation after his uncle’s death, and Muniz had no connection with the new boss, said Marchi.

‘Uncharacteristic’ behavior

“As Mr. Muniz has accepted responsibility for these acts, he maintains that his behavior ... was uncharacteristic given his current circumstances,” Marchi wrote in a sentencing document.

“Mr. Muniz got involved in a situation that was wrong and was short lived. He admits what he did was wrong and has accepted responsibility for this action by pleading guilty.”

Muniz, 38, asked for a reduced sentence of just over six years so he can tend to his mother’s health issues and help his wife raise their five young children with a sixth baby on the way.

Marchi argued that Muniz led a productive life and had been a law-abiding citizen, with his last felony conviction more than 15 years ago.

However, court documents in the case say members of the Bueno Drug Trafficking Organization based in Eastern Washington have been under investigation by federal agents for 16 years.

The Drug Enforcement Administration identified it as a transnational organization in 2014.

Monthly Pasco drug shipments

Agents intercepted communications and conversations between members who talked about the transportation of multiple pounds of narcotics to “P-Town,” a nickname for Pasco, documents said.

The members used commercial semi trucks and passenger cars to move the drugs from the Phoenix and Los Angeles to the Tri-Cities.

Several ledgers seized from Muniz’s home showed monthly narcotic shipments in excess of 100 pounds and the cash value for each shipment, court documents said.

Muniz was one of six people indicted in April 2017 in U.S. District Court for the large-scale conspiracy. All of the cases have now been resolved with sentences ranging from 11 months to 22 years.

Both Muniz and Jerardo Yniguez-Tapia were sentenced Monday in Richland’s Federal Building by Senior Judge Wm. Fremming Nielsen.

Nielsen, who presided over all of the cases, said the dangerous Bueno organization was responsible for importing, transporting and distributing significant quantities illegal drugs into Eastern Washington.

The judge rejected Muniz’s request for less time and ordered the recommended 11-year, 3-month term.

Trafficker removed from streets

“The sentence imposed by the court removes a drug trafficker from our streets and sends a clear message to others who may choose to engage in such criminal activity,” William D. Hyslop, the new U.S. Attorney for Eastern Washington, said in a news release.

Yniguez-Tapia, a Southern California resident, was sentenced to two years in prison.

The two men previously pleaded guilty to the same charge of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of meth and five kilograms of cocaine.

Both currently are out of custody and will be notified by the U.S. Marshals Service when and where to report.

The judge wrote a letter to the Federal Bureau of Prisons recommending Muniz serve his time at a facility in Sheridan, Ore., and be allowed to participate in the 500-hour drug treatment program.

He said the Northwest prison was requested by Muniz because he has lived in the Tri-Cities for a long time and has a lot of family and friends who want to be able to visit him.

$1.5M cash stuffed in duffle bags

Yniguez-Tapia was stopped by agents in June 2015 after he was seen at a “stash location” in Pomona, Calif., removing two duffle bags from a parked semi truck, court documents said.

A police dog alerted on Yniguez-Tapia’s trunk during the traffic stop, and agents discovered $1.5 million in cash stuffed inside the bags, documents said. Authorities then searched his home with his permission and found 26 kilograms of cocaine.

He was released as the investigation continued, but arrested two years later in Pasco. He talked about being recruited into the Bueno organization and traveling around the country for them, and being forced to pay off the money that police seized in 2015.