CartelLand

Federal Judge Threatens To Block El Chapo’s ‘Drug’ Money From Paying For Lawyers


NBC New York –Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman walked into federal court in Brooklyn and immediately waved to his wife and twin daughters, who were sitting in the second row, then sat as a judge refused to guarantee the government wouldn’t at some point seize any fees private lawyers would receive for legal services.

The Mexican drug lord’s lawyers, including noted criminal defense attorney Jeff Lichtman, who successfully defended the son of mob scion John Gotti, had sought assurances that if they came into the case, the government wouldn’t later seize their fees as part of the $14 billion alleged drug money it wants to collect from Guzman.

The private lawyers said they want to take the case off the hands of public defenders, that they want to lift the burden from taxpayers’ shoulders, but they need to be compensated.

They didn’t get any promises. 

U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan told them at Monday’s hearing that they would have to take that risk if they wanted to represent him. 

Afterward, the lawyers told reporters that they still want to find a way to represent Guzman. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of running a drug trafficking cartel that laundered billions of dollars and oversaw murders and kidnappings.

Lichtman also said after court that Guzman would be able to spend time with his family Thursday for the first time in seven months. Guzman frequently turned to stare at his family throughout his 15-minute hearing Monday. He appeared emotional at times. 

Guzman is set to go on trial in New York next year. Cogan refused to flex the trial start date at Monday’s hearing. He told the private lawyers if they wanted to take the risk in defending Guzman to “do it soon,” adding “I am not going to put the April trial date in jeopardy because you complain that you didn’t have enough time to prepare.” 

Lichtman has yet to file a “notice of appearance” officially saying he is Guzman’s new lawyer, though Guzman has retained him.

Wow! Looks like the Feds ain’t playing with “El Chapo” at all. He fought tooth & nail to get transferred to the US to face his charges, but it looks like that plan is slowly crumbling like foil. Especially if the judge blocks that money.

Prior to hiring his own counsel, he was using public defenders to defend his case. 

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Tijuana Drug Cartel Hitman Describes Life As A Professional Killer In New Book

Everyone KNOWS that I live for a redemption story, so much so that I am working on my own masterpiece redemption story entitled, “Gangster Girls: The Last Girl Standing” in which I hope to release sooner than later.

Anyhow, the following article was posted on Daily Mail UK and gives some insight into the life of Martin Corona, a former hitman for the Tijauna drug cartel.

Corona, who has admitted to killing 8 people during his time in the cartel says that it was when he was ordered to murder two women (with a child in the car) that he decided to walk away from the lifestyle. For good.

Cartel

Martin Corona was a professional killer working for the feared Mexican Cartel leader Ramon Arellano-Felix.

Racking up a total of eight kills in his criminal career, he earned himself 25 years in prison back in 2001.

The killer, now 58, opened up about how he handled his killings and his life as a gun for hire.

Fighting a drug war which engulfed the southern part of California, he claims to killed a member of El Chapo’s drug cartel.

He described being a “lost soul” who found acceptance in the world of paid for murder and gangs.

Corona revealed he is “not proud” of what he has done and said he finds it “humiliating” to look himself in the mirror.

Working as enforcer of drug-pushers, he gunned down two women sitting in a car who were suspected of snitching.

However he discovered one of their seven-year-old daughters sitting in the back seat.

The killer said it was this moment which made him give up his life as a hitman.

He described telling himself “its an ugly business, but its a business” before his first assassination – when he was ordered to kill two members of a rival gang.

Corona – who cannot be pictured for his own safety – is now free from prison and working as a construction worker, trying to escape his brutal past.

Corona’s descent into crime began at age 12, getting into drugs, and discovering the man he thought was his father wasn’t.

He told the New York Post:

 I was a lost soul. These people accepted me. They treated me with respect, and at the time, it seemed like admiration and love.

I’m not proud of my past.

It’s really humiliating waking up and looking at yourself in the mirror knowing the things you’ve done.

His story is being told in new book Confessions of a Cartel Hit Man which is out on July 25.

Wives Of El Chapo’s Cartel Say They Regret The Lives Their Husbands Lived
FloresWives

The “Flores wives” speak out against the cartel in Fox News interview

Wives of the newly released book, “Cartel Wives” speak out to denounce the former lifestyle in which their ex-husbands, who were twin brothers, allegedly made billions of dollars for the Sinaloa cartel — under the reign of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

The wives, who spoke exclusively to Fox News’ Catherine Herridge in full disguise, say they live in constant fear of retaliation by the cartel. The formerly kept women are now kept under witness protection as their husbands became federal informants for the US government in the highly publicized upcoming trial against Guzman for his alleged international drug crimes.

The trial is set to begin April of 2018.

The wives who have assumed the alias names of Mia and Olivia Flores, say they are deeply regretful for the lives that their ex-husbands led and they hope that by telling their stories it will help mend the devastation that the “cartel life” caused to communities and families.

Book Trailer: “Cartel Wives” 

cartelwives

“Cartel Wives” is the inside story of dangerous love,
risky decisions, and redemption.
It is Visceral account of how two strong and attractive
woman from inner-city Chicago formed an intimate
and romantically indelible triumph of the heart from the crude
foundation of cocaine, illicit opulence, and betrayal.
It is the epic drama of the true life story of the ingenious Flores Twins
and their courageous wives who discarded any possibility
of a normal life for the Twins Brothers who won their hearts.
It is the tale of four lives lured to the unbelievable saga
of their scheme to bring down the infamous El Chapo.
Behind every good man there is a woman, and here is their
inspiring true story.

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Book releases worldwide June 20 (2017)

Order on Barnes & Noble 

The “Cartel Wives” Book on Facebook