Properties forfeited, purveyor of B.C. bud gets 14 years
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Updated: November 20, 2009 5:32 PM
A Seattle man who conspired to smuggle more than 1,000 kilograms of B.C. marijuana across the border – and used his aging parents to help move his ill-gotten money – was sentenced Thursday to 14 years in prison.
David R. Mendoza, 44, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charges on June 19. His sentence was handed down in U.S. District Court in Seattle Nov. 19.
According to a statement from the U.S. District Attorney's office, Mendoza was identified as the leader of a plan to smuggle multiple 100-kg loads of B.C. bud into the U.S. by commercial trucks and helicopter. In a plea agreement, Mendoza admitted responsibility for a 400-kg load that was intercepted at the Blaine border in April 2003. The drugs were hidden in a load of lumber.
Mendoza also admitted in 2005 to importing more than 1,000 kg of B.C. bud by helicopter, the statement notes. And, additional loads of marijuana seized in 2006 were connected to Mendoza.
Mendoza was first indicted in December 2006, but fled to Spain during the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation. He was located in January 2007, and extradited back to the U.S. in May 2009.
In a sentencing memo, prosecutors Susan Roe and Roger Rogoff described Mendoza as a "man of talent, intelligence and great charm."
"Unfortunately, he has spent the past 20 years of his life committing crimes, smuggling drugs, and moving money through semi-phoney businesses. Most disturbing, he has regularly used his aging parents to move money for him."
Also in the plea agreement, Mendoza, who has two prior drug convictions, agreed to forfeit four properties – including a movie theatre in Oregon – obtained with proceeds of his illegal activities.
Following his prison term, he will be subject to five years of supervised release.
ICE special agent Leigh Winchell said in a statement Mendoza's sentence is "a reminder of the serious consequences drug traffickers face for trying to bring illicit drugs into our communities."
