Flashy criminals?: First watch the film 'Goodfellas'
This story should be of interest for those considering a life of crime. What to do. What not to do.
If you rob a business, for example, should you do it during the lunch hour while still wearing your work uniform with your name tag pinned to the front of it?
Or wait until after work and you’ve changed into some street clothes?
Simple stuff. In federal court in McAllen last week, Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced a husband-and-wife crime duo to 20 years in the federal slammer, describing the case as one of the largest alien-smuggling takedowns that “this district has seen in recent history,” according to a press release dated July 30, 2024, courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
For the RGV, that’s saying a lot.
What the married couple did, however, both in this country illegally, by the way, is not what criminals should do if they want to avoid capture and a long prison sentence – live a lavish lifestyle decked out in high-dollar “bling,” while flaunting their wealth in a lookat- us sort of way.
Remember, the U.S. isn’t Mexico. No disrespect intended, but south of the border, sad to say, too many criminals with the least little bit of clout still never serve time, never get arrested, no matter what serious crimes they may commit. On this side of the border, not so much.
There are FBI agents out in the field looking for a collar, backed by assistant U.S. attorneys just waiting for a solid case to take before a fed grand jury, so why make it so easy for them?
Indeed, for those considering a life of crime, believing that it does indeed pay, may I suggest you first watch the movie, “Goodfellas,” which was released in 1990.
'Goodfellas'
Over the years, Director Martin Scorsese has teamed up with Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci to make some of the best mob movies on the Big Screen. Some people may not like DeNiro’s anti-Trump politics, but it’s hard to argue that the guy isn’t one of the best actors of his generation; part of a very small club that includes the likes of Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman.
Among the many mafia movies that have been made, many critics consider “Goodfellas” to be one of the very best. Meaning, it more closely portrays what that life was like for those who lived it before RICO came along and busted up their parade. Not entirely, but to a large degree. The mobsters who used got get a 15-year sentence before RICO were suddenly getting 50 to 75 years, and for that, they started to rat out each other. “Omerta” (silence) went out the window.
That is, except for one mobster, Sonny Franzese, part of the Colombo Crime Family, who was sentenced to 50 years for a bank-robbery conspiracy he set he didn’t commit. He told the judge and the prosecutor that he would outlive both, and so he did. He was released from federal prison at the age of 100 and died at 103.
His son, Michael Franzese, a made guy who served his time and successfully walked away from the life because his testimony never put anyone behind bars, has one of the best mob channels today onYouTube.
The most important scene from the movie “Goodfellas,” though, for would-be criminals, is a scene inside a bar during the Christmas season. The movie is based on the life of Henry Hill, a real mob associate during the 1960s and ‘70s who would later rat out his bosses and go into the witness protection program.
In this Christmas scene, the DeNiro character, “Jimmy the Gent,” is at a mob bar where he’s gathered his crew, meant to celebrate the successful robbery of a Lufthansa Airline vault at JFK that scored approximately $6 million.
Everything is going fine. There is revelry in the air; “Frosty the Snowman” is playing the background, the booze is freely flowing, DeNiro is in high spirits, and then two clowns from his crew show up at the bar.
Now, Jimmy has warned his guys to lay low. Don’t flash around any money. Keep everything on the down low. With $6 million missing, the cops, feds are looking high and low trying to locate the robbers.
So what happens?
First, one of the crew members shows up driving a new Caddie. Pink, no less.
The DeNiro character sees that and hits the ceiling.
“DON'T BUY ANYTHING! DON'T BUY ANYTHING! WHAT DID I TELL YOU! WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU!?”
The crew guy tries to explain to “Jimmy the Gent” that the Caddie is in his mother’s name.
“It’s under my mother’s name.”
So everything should be cool, right?
DeNiro is having none of that. With a profanity-laced tirade, all the stupid crew guy can do is to keep saying, “I’m sorry.”
Get rid of it, DeNiro says. The holiday mood in the bar has now evaporated. Goodbye, “Frosty.”
Then, as if the DeNiro character is not already mad enough to pop a cork, who walks through the bar door next?
Another crew member, only this guy is with his wife, and she’s wearing a very expensive fur coat.
Jimmy goes ballistic: “Are you (expletive) kidding me?”
The carotid artery on his neck is already fit to burst.
If you’re considering a life of crime, this movie will, or at least it should, make an impression on you. If you’re going to commit crimes, don’t use the proceeds to live large.
The couple sentenced in McAllen last week, however, failed to heed that advice if, in fact, they had ever watched the movie, “Goodfellas.”
The McAllen Case
The McAllen case sentenced in Judge Crane’s court last week was no different. Criminals living large when they should have kept their illicit gains out of sight. In the end, had they done that, it still probably wouldn’t have saved them from a long prison sentence, 20 years each, but why make it easy for the feds when you don’t have to?
Here is the July 30 press release, courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District: McALLEN, Texas – Two non-U.S. citizens have been ordered to federal prison for their roles in a conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and a related scheme to transport aliens within the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani along with Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tapp of the FBI's San Antonio Field Office.
Luis Enrique Moctezuma- Acosta, 37, and Scarlett Fuentes-Gavarrette, 34, pleaded guilty in March to laundering over $2 million in monetary instruments and conspiracy to transport illegal aliens. Both are Mexican nationals who illegally resided in Mission.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now ordered the couple to serve 240 months (20 years) in federal prison. Not U.S. citizens, they are expected to face removal proceedings following their sentences.
At the hearing, the court heard recordings of undocumented aliens held against their will and begging their families to pay smugglers for their release. Evidence further revealed the organization proudly boasted about using their trucking business as a front, which not only facilitated the alien smuggling but also enabled the laundering of $2.9 million.
The court also considered the lavish lifestyle the co-conspirators led, all while exploiting individuals who were seeking a better life. The organization had referred to them as “products” and abandoned some in the harsh conditions of the brush without food or water, resulting in the death of one.
In handing down the sentence, the court noted his concurrence that this is one of the largest alien smuggling take downs this district has seen in recent history.
“This case started as a money laundering investigation at a business. FBI agents did a phenomenal job following the evidence to uncover a much larger conspiracy involving human smuggling,” said Tapp of the FBI's San Antonio Field Office. 'I want to thank our partners at the Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, the Texas Department of Insurance and the McAllen Police Department for their assistance with this case and their continued partnership in keeping our south Texas communities safe.”
The conspiracy involved a sophisticated network of alien smugglers across the United States utilizing commercial airplanes, tractor-trailers and various other smuggling methods.
An investigation began in November 2019 and revealed the LEMA smuggling organization brought 2,459 undocumented migrants from the Southwest border regions further into the northern parts of the United States. The network spanned from Honduras to as far north as Boston, Massachusetts, with a heavy emphasis on smuggling Brazilian nationals.
On March 9, 2023, authorities executed multiple search warrants at Fuentes-Gavarrette and Moctezuma-Acosta’s properties, at which time they seized over $1.5 million in cash. The locations included their residence and a purported car dealership they operated as a front business. Throughout the investigation, law enforcement also seized approximately $2.69 million in assets and several luxury vehicles, such as a 2023 Escalade, 2021 Ford Shelby Truck, jewelry and several pieces of real property.
Both will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of task force officers from Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, Texas Department of Insurance and McAllen Police Department. The Texas Attorney General's Office also provided assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric D. Flores prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Foster assisted with forfeiture proceedings.