Task Force Agent Arrested

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment on Thursday, July 13, 2023, charging Antonio Pizarro Adorno, a Puerto Rico Special Investigations Bureau (“NIE” as known in Spanish) officer assigned to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (HSI), for concealing $170 during a law enforcement seizure.

According to court documents, on April 27, 2023, Pizarro Adorno, took $170 in cash seized by the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB), with the intent to impair its integrity and availability for use in an investigation being conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives related to drug trafficking in a community in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

“Investigating and prosecuting officials who abuse their positions of trust will continue to be a top priority in the Justice Department and this office,” said W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.

Pizarro Adorno is scheduled for his initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Giselle López-Soler of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI San Juan Field Office, Public Corruption Unit is investigating the case, with the collaboration of the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie Christine Amy is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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