Manager for Violent Fraudulent Document Ring Sentenced to Two Life Sentences for Murdering Rival Vendor

A news release issued on March 2, 2012 by both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) addresses the imposition of two life prison sentences on a key player in a fraud document ring that used acts of extreme violence committed within the United States as a means of protecting his turf; turf to be found in 19 American cities located in 11 American states.  Meanwhile, Janet Napolitano, the Secretary of Homeland Security continues to insist that there is no “spillover violence” in the United States from Mexico.

The opening paragraph of the Justice Department news release does a good job of laying out the salient facts about this case:

WASHINGTON – Edy Oliverez-Jiminez, aka “Daniel,” Erasmo,” “Ulysses” and “Jesus,” 25, of Virginia Beach, Va., was sentenced today to two consecutive life terms on prison, after having been convicted by a jury for racketeering, murder, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to produce and transfer false identification documents.

It is disconcerting that Oliverez-Jiminez was convicted of exporting the violence of a “Mexican-based cartel,” yet there is nothing in either news release about the citizenship of either Oliverez-Jiminez or his co-conspirators who were operating in 11 states scattered around our country.  Consider this quote from the ICE news release:

“Oliverez-Jimenez was a long-term supervisor for a highly sophisticated and violent fraudulent document trafficking organization based in Mexico, with cells in 19 cities in 11 states, including three cells in Virginia. Prior to his arrest, he had served as the cell manager for the Virginia Beach and Little Rock, Ark., cells.”

When transnational gangs set up shop in communities in the United States, the cells that are established are run by aliens who are citizens of the country from which the criminal enterprises originate.  This is about maintaining strict control through the use of extreme violence.  Consider this passage from the news release:

During Oliverez-Jiminez’s trial and Cruz Millan’s sentencing hearing, the United States presented evidence regarding Cruz Millan’s orchestration of the kidnapping, beating and torture of an enterprise member who was suspected of stealing from the organization. The event occurred on Oct. 29, 2010, in Raleigh, N.C.  The evidence presented included telephone calls during which Cruz Millan conducted a “conference call” with other cell leaders around the United States so they could hear the torture as it took place and sending a message to other enterprise members about what would happen if they were caught stealing from the criminal organization.  The testimony and intercepted calls depicted how the victim was subjected to electric shocks administered by placing his feet in a bucket of water and electrocuting him with jumper cables attached to a car battery.

It should be presumed that Oliverez-Jiminez is a citizen of Mexico, but the current administration has consistently been reluctant to identify criminals' immigration status, apparently concerned that if the public knew how many criminal aliens were operating throughout the United States, at great distance from the Southwest Border, that more American across the country would demand that our borders be secured and our immigration laws be enforced.

This case represents only one such organization that was identified and dismantled through the diligent efforts of the various law enforcement organizations that participated in the investigation.  It must be remembered that fraud identity documents not only may be used to permit illegal aliens to seek unlawful employment but may also be used by criminals and terrorists to enable them to hide in plain sight.

For more information about the issue of “spillover violence,” read this Op-Ed I wrote for Fox News Latino entitled, “Spillover Violence is National Reality.”