2 San Diego CBP officers allegedly took bribes to let undocumented migrants enter U.S.
圣迭戈的海关官员涉嫌收受贿赂，让未授权的移民进入美国
Prosecutors said the officers conspired with a human-smuggling group and were paid thousands of dollars for each car they allowed to pass through the San Ysidro Port of Entry
检察官称，这些警官与人口走私集团勾结，并且每允许一辆车通过圣伊西德罗口岸，就收取数千美元
Two U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in San Diego are facing federal charges for allegedly accepting tens of thousands of dollars in cash bribes to allow vehicles carrying undocumented migrants to pass unchecked through their inspection lanes at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday.
根据周四公布的刑事起诉书，两名位于圣地亚哥的美国海关和边境保护局特工因涉嫌接受数万美元的现金贿赂，允许载有非法移民的车辆未经检查通过圣伊西多罗口岸的检查车道，而面临联邦指控。
Federal agents arrested officers Farlis Almonte and Ricardo Rodriguez last week and prosecutors charged them with multiple counts related to bringing undocumented migrants into the U.S. for financial gain. They were also each charged with receiving bribes as a public official.
联邦特工上周逮捕了特工法利斯·阿尔蒙特和里卡多·罗德里格斯，并指控他们多项与为财务利益带非法移民进入美国相关的罪名。他们还各自被指控作为公职人员接受贿赂。
Prosecutors allege that both men would inform co-conspirators in Mexico which lanes they had been assigned to work and then smugglers would drive through those lanes with undocumented migrants riding as passengers. Prosecutors asserted that Almonte permitted at least 45 such crossings, that both men were paid thousands for each vehicle they waved through and that around the same time as the alleged criminal conduct, both Almonte and Rodriguez began making unusually large cash deposits into their bank accounts.
检察官指控，这两人会告知墨西哥的共犯他们被分配工作的车道，然后走私者会驾驶装有非法移民的车辆通过这些车道。检察官声称阿尔蒙特至少允许了 45 次这样的过境，两人每放行一辆车都会获得数千美元的报酬。同时，据指控的犯罪行为发生期间，阿尔蒙特和罗德里格斯开始在其银行账户中进行异常大的现金存款。
Last week, after Almonte was in custody, investigators allegedly seized nearly $70,000 in cash they believe his romantic partner was trying to move to Tijuana from a San Diego storage locker. Prosecutors wrote in a court filing that Almonte is potentially facing additional charges for money laundering and obstruction of justice.
上周，在阿尔蒙特被羁押后，调查人员据称从圣迭戈的一个储物柜中搜出了近 7 万美元现金，他们认为这笔现金是他的情人试图从圣迭戈转移到提华纳的。检察官在一份法庭文件中写道，阿尔蒙特可能面临洗钱和妨碍司法的额外指控。
“Any Customs and Border Protection agent who aids or turns a blind eye to smugglers bringing undocumented immigrants into the U.S. is betraying their oath and endangering our national security,” Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden told the Union-Tribune in a statement. “Those who engage in such misconduct will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
“任何协助或对走私者无视的海关和边境保护局特工都在背叛他们的誓言，并危及我国国家安全，”代理美国检察官安德鲁·哈登在一份声明中告诉《联合论坛报》。“那些参与此类不当行为的人将依法受到最严厉的惩罚。”
Almonte and Rodriguez are at least the fourth and fifth San Diego-area CBP officers to face similar corruption charges within the last two years. A jury convicted Leonard Darnell George last year of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for allowing drugs and undocumented migrants to be smuggled through his inspection lane at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. He was sentenced to 23 years in federal prison.
阿尔蒙特和罗德里格斯是过去两年内至少第四和第五名面临类似腐败指控的圣地亚哥地区海关和边境保护局特工。去年，陪审团裁定伦纳德·丹尼尔·乔治因接受数十万美元的贿赂，允许毒品和非法移民走私通过圣伊西德罗口岸的检查车道，判处其 23 年联邦监禁。
Jesse Clark Garcia and Diego Bonillo are scheduled to go on trial this summer on charges that they worked for a Mexican drug-trafficking organization to allow vehicles loaded with fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine to pass unchecked through their lanes at the Otay Mesa and Tecate ports of entry.
杰西·克拉克·加西亚和迪 ego·波尼略定于今年夏天接受审判，他们被指控为墨西哥贩毒组织工作，允许装有芬太尼、海洛因、可卡因和甲基苯丙胺的车辆未经检查通过奥塔伊梅萨和提卡特口岸的车道。
“The alleged actions of these individuals are deeply troubling and do not reflect the values of CBP or the vast majority of our dedicated personnel who serve with integrity every day,” Sidney Aki, the director of field operations for CBP’s San Diego field office, told the Union-Tribune in response to questions about Almonte and Rodriguez. “We are fully cooperating with the investigation and will take all necessary steps to ensure accountability. The public’s trust is paramount, and we remain committed to upholding the highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct.”
“这些个人的所谓行为令人深感不安，也不反映 CBP 的价值观或我们绝大多数秉持诚信服务的人员的价值观，”CBP 圣迭戈分局现场运营主管西德尼·阿基在接受《联合论坛报》关于阿尔蒙特和罗德里格斯的问题时说道。“我们将全力配合调查，并将采取所有必要措施确保问责制。公众的信任至关重要，我们始终致力于保持最高的专业标准和道德行为。”
An attorney for Almonte declined to comment on the charges against her client. Rodriguez’s attorney stressed that the case was still in the “infant stages.”
阿尔蒙特的律师拒绝就针对她客户的指控发表评论。罗德里格斯的律师强调，案件仍处于“初期阶段”。
“Certainly, he has the presumption of innocence, and we look forward to working through the current situation,” defense attorney Michael Hawkins said.
“当然，他享有无罪推定，并期待能够顺利解决当前的情况，”辩护律师迈克尔·霍金斯说。
Federal investigators began to uncover the alleged corruption in September when several suspected human smugglers told authorities that they had been directed to drive across the border in San Ysidro in certain lanes and at certain times, according to a probable cause statement authored by a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.
联邦调查人员在九月开始揭露涉嫌的腐败行为，当时几名疑似人口走私者向当局供认，他们被指示在圣伊西德罗边境在特定车道和特定时间过境，根据美国海关和边境保护局监察长办公室一名特别特工撰写的指控陈述书所述。
Those defendants either stated outright or alluded to the fact that their group was bribing multiple CBP officers, the investigating agent wrote. “Based on review of those defendants’ crossing histories, telephone evidence, and other material, both Almonte and Rodriguez were identified as the corrupt” officers, the agent wrote.
这些被告要么明确表示，要么暗示他们的团伙正在向多名 CBP 官员行贿，调查特工写道。根据对这些被告过境历史、电话证据和其他材料的审查，调查特工写道，阿尔蒙特和罗德里格斯被认定为腐败官员。
In one example highlighted in the complaint, a smuggling suspect arrested in early September told investigators about three successful smuggling trips made in late August. When investigators checked surveillance footage and internal records, they learned the smuggler had crossed through Almonte’s lane once and Rodriguez’s lane twice, according to the complaint.
投诉中提到的一个例子显示，一名在九月初被逮捕的人口走私嫌疑人向调查人员讲述了三个在八月底成功进行的人口走私行程。当调查人员检查监控录像和内部记录时，他们了解到该走私者曾一次通过阿尔蒙特的车道，两次通过罗德里格斯的车道，根据投诉所述。
Investigators came to learn that Almonte and Rodriguez would be given advance notice of which vehicles would be part of the smuggling conspiracy, according to the complaint. When those vehicles would arrive at their booths, they would enter information into the CBP system asserting that only the driver was in the vehicle, even when surveillance footage clearly showed passengers.
调查人员根据起诉书的描述了解到，阿尔蒙特和罗德里格斯将提前得知哪些车辆将参与走私阴谋。当这些车辆到达他们的检查站时，他们会进入 CBP 系统，声称车内只有司机，即使监控录像清楚地显示有乘客。
Although surveillance footage clearly showed a passenger riding in this car on Oct. 15 as it crossed the San Ysidro Port of Entry, prosecutors allege CBP Officer Ricardo Rodriguez only entered the driver’s information into an internal CBP records system. (U.S. District Court via criminal complaint)
尽管监控录像清楚地显示，这辆车在 10 月 15 日穿越圣伊西德罗口岸时有乘客，但检察官指控 CBP 警官里卡多·罗德里格斯仅将司机的信息录入了 CBP 内部记录系统。（来自刑事起诉书）
Prosecutors allege that beginning last year, both Almonte and Rodriguez “deposited abnormal amounts of cash” into their bank accounts after depositing a minimal amount of cash in the 18 months prior. During a three-month stretch late last year, Almonte deposited $22,000 in cash while Rodriguez allegedly deposited $24,000 in cash in a six-month period, according to the complaint.
检察官指控，从去年开始，阿尔蒙特和罗德里格斯在之前 18 个月内仅少量存入现金的情况下，开始存入异常大量的现金。去年底的一个三个月时间段内，阿尔蒙特存入了 22,000 美元的现金，而罗德里格斯在六个月内据称存入了 24,000 美元的现金，根据起诉书的描述。
A search warrant related to the case and motions filed by prosecutors seeking to keep Almonte in custody indicate that Almonte’s romantic partner tried to move large amounts of cash directly after visiting Almonte in jail. Investigators were surveilling the woman and seized about $17,000 from her purse and an additional $50,000 from a storage unit that she began renting after Almonte’s arrest, according to prosecutors.
与案件相关的搜查令和检察官提交的动议表明，阿尔蒙特的浪漫伴侣在访问阿尔蒙特被捕后的监狱后试图直接转移大量现金。调查人员监视了该女子，并从她的手提包中没收了大约 17000 加元，另外还从她被捕后开始租赁的储物单元中没收了 50000 加元，据检察官称。
Hawkins, the attorney for Rodriguez, said his client is a native of the Dominican Republic who lawfully immigrated to the U.S. when he was 18 years old and “immediately learned English and graduated college with a degree in automotive engineering.” Hawkins said Rodriguez is a hard worker who “spent a significant period” in the National Guard. “From all accounts, Ricardo was and is a man living out his American dream,” the attorney said.
希尔兹，罗德里格斯的律师，表示他的客户是一名来自多米尼加共和国的原住民，他在 18 岁时合法移民到美国，并且“立即学会了英语并获得了汽车工程学士学位。”希尔斯说，罗德里格斯是一名勤奋的人，他在“相当长的一段时间”内在国民警卫队服役。“据所有情况显示，里卡多过去和现在都是一个实现美国梦的人，”这位律师说。
In court hearings last week, prosecutors argued both men were flight risks who potentially had access to large amounts of cash and should be held in detention without bail. A federal magistrate disagreed and set bail amounts for both men, but consented to pause their release from custody to give prosecutors a chance to appeal the decision.
上周在法庭听证会上，检察官认为这两人是逃跑的风险分子，可能拥有大量现金，应该被拘留，不得保释。一位联邦法官不同意这一观点，并为这两人设定了保释金额，但同意暂停他们的释放，以便检察官有机会上诉这一决定。
Originally Published: 最初发布于:April 4, 2025 at 5:00 AM PDT