Jorge Roca Suarez

A federal judge in Los Angeles agreed Monday to a request from lawyers for a reputed Bolivian cocaine kingpin that he be allowed to stand trial in San Diego on drug trafficking charges before he is tried on tax evasion and bank fraud charges in Los Angeles. U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson said it made sense to grant the request from attorneys for Jorge Roca Suarez, who was arrested last month in San Marino. On Dec.

Bolivian drug kingpin Jorge Roca Suarez was sentenced Monday to more than 35 years in prison, the maximum term allowed under federal guidelines. Roca, 42, convicted in Los Angeles in February of conspiracy to manufacture cocaine, conspiracy to export currency, tax evasion and money laundering, sat stoically as U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson handed down a 365-month sentence for the drug conviction.

The federal government on Friday unveiled two massive indictments against reputed Bolivian drug kingpin Jorge Roca Suarez, accusing him of running a multi-ton cocaine trafficking organization, money laundering, tax evasion, bank fraud and conspiracy to export millions of dollars in U.S. currency. Indictments unsealed in Los Angeles and San Diego contained 30 charges presented against Roca, 38, at a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Robert M. Stone in Los Angeles.

A Bolivian man accused of heading that country's largest cocaine cartel was convicted in a Los Angeles federal court Friday, ending his second trial on those charges. Jorge Roca Suarez was found guilty of conspiracy to manufacture cocaine, conspiracy to export currency, conspiracy to evade taxes, tax evasion and money laundering. He faces a possible life sentence in federal prison when he is sentenced next month.

A Bolivian man accused of heading that country's largest cocaine cartel was convicted in a Los Angeles federal court Friday, ending his second trial on those charges. Jorge Roca Suarez was found guilty of conspiracy to manufacture cocaine, conspiracy to export currency, conspiracy to evade taxes, tax evasion and money laundering. He faces a possible life sentence in federal prison when he is sentenced next month.

In an extraordinary and bitterly disputed set of sworn declarations, 29 Bolivian citizens claim that U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Bolivian soldiers went on a rampage of kidnap, torture, rape and intimidation in an effort to build a case against alleged drug kingpin Jorge Roca Suarez. The alleged atrocities--which American authorities vehemently deny--spanned from 1989 to 1992, according to Bolivians who say they were victimized.

A Los Angeles federal magistrate on Friday ordered reputed Bolivian drug kingpin Jorge Roca Suarez held without bail pending trial on charges accusing him of money-laundering, tax evasion, bank fraud and conspiracy to export millions of dollars of U.S. currency that were the profits of a cocaine trafficking. U.S. Magistrate Volney V. Brown Jr. said that Roca Suarez, 38, should be denied bail because he was likely to flee.

On the opening day of a high-profile drug case, prosecutors said Jorge Roca Suarez, the defendant, commanded a powerful cocaine cartel that shipped thousands of kilograms of cocaine paste to Colombia and collected "boxfuls of cash" in Los Angeles. According to prosecutors, Roca and his Bolivian organization were receiving "millions of dollars a week" at the height of their enterprise.

Reputed drug lord Jorge Roca Suarez, three relatives and two alleged cocaine trafficking associates pleaded not guilty Monday to charges brought against them in two massive federal indictments. They were ordered to stand trial Feb. 5. Drug enforcement authorities have accused Roca, 38, of being the chief supplier of raw materials to Pablo Escobar, a notorious Colombian cocaine kingpin. The Bolivia-born Roca, who was arrested Dec.

Bolivian drug kingpin Jorge Roca Suarez was sentenced Monday to more than 35 years in prison, the maximum term allowed under federal guidelines. Roca, 42, convicted in Los Angeles in February of conspiracy to manufacture cocaine, conspiracy to export currency, tax evasion and money laundering, sat stoically as U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson handed down a 365-month sentence for the drug conviction.

After deliberating for nearly a week, jurors on Wednesday gave up trying to reach a verdict in the case of a Bolivian national charged with running a massive international drug and money laundering organization. The judge ordered a mistrial. The federal jury voted 11 to 1 to convict Jorge Roca Suarez on at least some of the conspiracy, tax evasion, drug and money laundering counts against him. Had he been convicted, those charges could have sent him to prison for the rest of his life.

A woman testifying against alleged cocaine kingpin Jorge Roca Suarez said in court Thursday that she helped smuggle more than $50 million in currency from the United States to Bolivia during 1985 and 1986, packing wrapped bundles of cash from drug profits into freezers, vacuum cleaners, stereo equipment and suitcases.

An admitted former drug trafficker who says he transported cocaine in Bolivia and was an indirect operative in the notorious Medellin cartel testified Wednesday that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has paid him more than $370,000 over the last three years.

On the opening day of a high-profile drug case, prosecutors said Jorge Roca Suarez, the defendant, commanded a powerful cocaine cartel that shipped thousands of kilograms of cocaine paste to Colombia and collected "boxfuls of cash" in Los Angeles. According to prosecutors, Roca and his Bolivian organization were receiving "millions of dollars a week" at the height of their enterprise.

A federal judge Monday dismissed allegations that Drug Enforcement Administration agents went on a violent rampage in Bolivia in their attempts to gather information against accused drug kingpin Jorge Roca Suarez, calling the charges vague, unsubstantiated and irrelevant to the case. "I don't find it persuasive in the least," U.S. Dist. Judge Stephen V. Wilson said of the argument presented by Roca's lawyer.

In an extraordinary and bitterly disputed set of sworn declarations, 29 Bolivian citizens claim that U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Bolivian soldiers went on a rampage of kidnap, torture, rape and intimidation in an effort to build a case against alleged drug kingpin Jorge Roca Suarez. The alleged atrocities--which American authorities vehemently deny--spanned from 1989 to 1992, according to Bolivians who say they were victimized.

Federal drug agents on Thursday quietly arrested a San Marino resident described as one of the world's largest cocaine traffickers and successor to the "king" of the Bolivian cocaine trade. The arrest of Jorge Roca-Suarez, 38, at his 19-room house was confirmed by Julius C. Beretta, special agent in charge of the San Diego office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Agents also arrested Roca's wife, Beatriz Roca-Torres, 40, in nearby Monterey Park, Beretta said.

After deliberating for nearly a week, jurors on Wednesday gave up trying to reach a verdict in the case of a Bolivian national charged with running a massive international drug and money laundering organization. The judge ordered a mistrial. The federal jury voted 11 to 1 to convict Jorge Roca Suarez on at least some of the conspiracy, tax evasion, drug and money laundering counts against him. Had he been convicted, those charges could have sent him to prison for the rest of his life.

Five years ago, U.S. Customs agents in Miami opened an upright freezer that was being shipped from Los Angeles to Bolivia. Inside was cold cash--more than $2 million in U.S. currency. Two weeks later, customs agents in Miami opened two more shipments--stereo speakers and vacuum cleaners--en route from Los Angeles to Bolivia. Inside one speaker was $500,000. Inside the two vacuum cleaners was $398,950.

Five years ago, U.S. Customs Service agents in Miami opened an upright freezer that was being shipped from Los Angeles to Bolivia. Inside was cold cash, and plenty of it--more than $2 million in U.S. currency. Two weeks later, Customs agents in Miami opened two more shipments--stereo speakers and vacuum cleaners--en route from Los Angeles to Bolivia. Inside one speaker was $500,000. Inside the two vacuum cleaners was $398,950.