Otay Mesa Tunnel was a conduit for smuggling heroin and cocaine into the United States and ferrying laundered proceeds back into Mexico

Otay Mesa Tunnel was a conduit for smuggling heroin and cocaine into the United States and ferrying laundered proceeds back into Mexico. The subsequent investigation led to seizure of 8.4 tons of cocaine and the convictions of nine people. Among them was Jose Reynoso, a narcotics trafficker linked to a Guadalajara drug cartel in whose California warehouse one end of the tunnel was located. The FBI's investigation and a parade of confidential witnesses also led to the doorstep of one of the most influential Latino businessmen on the Central Coast, Javier Vasquez-Robles, owner of La Esperanza Markets in Salinas, Watsonville, Santa Cruz and the greater Bay Area.
Witnesses told the FBI that Vasquez-Robles stored and distributed large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine from warehouses at his markets and a ranch on Hughes Road at the foot of Mount Madonna. The Watsonville resident, they said, also laundered millions of dollars in drug profits through his stores so the cash could be smuggled inconspicuously back into Mexico. After nine years of surveillance and wiretapping, the FBI collected what it thought was sufficient evidence to convict Vasquez-Robles on 12 counts of drug trafficking, money laundering and conspiracy. In June 2002, an indictment was handed down, also naming his wife and daughter and seeking
forfeiture of the family's 17 markets. The women faced multiple 20-year sentences. Vasquez-Robles, then 50, faced life in prison.
On Thursday, 17 years after the investigation began and eight years after the indictment, Vasquez-Robles was sentenced to three years in prison, the result of a settlement in which he pleaded guilty to one count of international money laundering and two counts of lying on his U.S. citizenship application.
His wife, Emelia Vasquez, 56, pleaded guilty to one count of laundering drug money and was sentenced to probation and a year of home confinement. Money-laundering charges against his daughter, Corina Vasquez, 32, were completely dismissed, as were drug charges against two other men named in the indictment. The settlement raises questions about what happened to allegations that Vasquez-Robles was operating a major drug operation on the Central Coast. Those questions will remain unanswered by the government. The U.S. Attorney's Office declined comment on the settlement.
Vasquez-Robles' attorney, Paul Meltzer of Santa Cruz, said federal prosecutors "correctly concluded they could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt."
"At the end of the day, despite all of the allegations, Mr. Vasquez was never found in possession of any drugs whatsoever," he said. "So, after eight years of litigation, we're pleased to resolve the case on these terms."
Meltzer stressed that neither his client nor any of the other defendants cooperated with authorities. On the contrary, he said, the government's settlement was based on a lack of evidence and problems with its confidential informants, all of whom were convicted of serious crimes after Vasquez-Robles was indicted.