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Cocaine and Methamphetamine Trafficking Organization Members Sentenced to Lengthy Prison Terms and Huge Forfeitures
Defendants are Members of the West Texas Puro Tango Blast Prison Gang

U.S. Attorney’s Office June 12, 2009
  • Northern District of Texas (214) 659-8600

ABILENE, TX—The leader of a major cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking organization that operated in the Abilene area and throughout North Texas, and who was also a member of the West Texas Puro Tango Blast prison gang, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Lubbock, Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas.  Ricardo Valdiviez, a/k/a “Ricky,” 24, of Brownsville, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 188 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $3,206,400.  Valdiviez pled guilty in February 2009 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.

Valdiviez, and nine co-defendants, were arrested on December 5, 2008, on charges in an indictment alleging that the participants in the conspiracy, as members and associates of the West Texas Puro Tango Blast criminal organization, distributed, and possessed with intent to distribute, cocaine and methamphetamine. The arrests were made in the Abilene area as well as in Brownsville, Arlington, and Corpus Christi, Texas. The indictment alleged that the defendants would acquire large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine, transport it to various locations, and then store it at various locations. These eight defendants have pled guilty to offenses regarding their roles in the drug trafficking organization, and have been sentenced:

  • Ramiro Olivo, a/k/a “Burrito,” 28, of Arlington, Texas, sentenced to 108 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $537,000
  • Steven Ildefonso Flores, 33, of Abilene, Texas, sentenced to 168 months
  • Larry Villareal, 32, of Abilene, Texas, sentenced to 235 months
  • Serafin Moreno, a/k/a “Serf,” 31, of Corpus Christi, Texas, sentenced to 168 months
  • Eric Tonche, a/k/a “Quat,” 27, of Abilene, Texas, sentenced to 210 months
  • Jacob Adam Garcia, a/k/a “Little Jake,” 25, of Abilene, Texas, sentenced to 71 months
  • Rolando Solis, 27, of Abilene Texas, sentenced to 37 months
  • Jennifer Grace Cortez, 26, of Abilene, Texas, sentenced to 46 months

The below-named defendant pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm:

  • Lorenzo Barela, 29, of Abilene, Texas, sentenced to 37 months

Two following two defendants named in the indictment were already in custody in December 2008, when the other arrests were made:

  • Fidel Hernandez Gomez, a/k/a “Gordo,” 44, an illegal alien who resided in Abilene, Texas, pled guilty to the conspiracy, and agreed to forfeit $537,000 and his residence in Stephens County, Texas; sentencing is scheduled for July 10, 2009
  • Joe Anthony Diaz, a/k/a "Ant," 26, of Abilene, Texas, pled guilty to the conspiracy; a sentencing date has not yet been set

The following defendant remains a fugitive:

  • Defendant David Rodriguez, 34, a/k/a “Super Dave”

The case was investigated by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), FBI, DEA, Texas Department of Public Safety, ATF, U.S. Marshals Service, West Central Texas Interlocal Crime Task Force, Abilene Police Department, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, Stephens County Sheriff’s Office, Arlington Police Department, Brownsville Police Department, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Security Threat Group Gang Intelligence Unit.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cody L. Skipper of the Lubbock, Texas, U.S. Attorney’s Office, prosecuted the case.

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