March 9, 2001
DEA AGENT PREVIOUSLY CHARGED WITH CORRUPTION
NOW FACES TAX OFFENSES ALLEGED BY A GRAND JURY
A federal grand jury that earlier this year charged a special
agent with Drug Enforcement Administration with corruption has added new
charges that the agent failed to tell the Internal Revenue Service about
money he earned during his scheme, United States Attorney Alejandro N.
Mayorkas announced today.
Emilio Calatayud, 34, an agent assigned to the Los Angeles Field
Division of the DEA, was named in a superseding indictment returned Thursday
afternoon by a grand jury in Los Angeles. Previously in this case, Calatayud
was charged with using his official position at the DEA to sell sensitive
law enforcement information to a private investigation firms. In addition
to those charges, Calatayud now faces three additional criminal tax charges
related to his alleged failure to report income he received from the private
investigation firm from 1995 through 1997.
Calatayud is charged with five counts of wire fraud for scheming
to defraud the DEA and the public of his honest services by using his public
office and position to enrich himself. Calatayud is also charged with five
counts of computer fraud for illegally using law enforcement computer systems
and exceeding his authorized access to those systems to acquire information
from various federal agencies. Additionally, Calatayud is charged with
one count of bribery for receiving payments from the private investigations
firm in exchange for conducting searches on individuals whom the private
investigations firm was investigating. The superseding indictment
adds three counts to the previously alleged 11 charges. The new charges
accuse Calatayud of subscribing to a false tax return for the years 1995,
1996, and 1997.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed
a crime. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven
guilty.
If convicted of all charges, Calatayud faces a maximum penalty
under federal law of 74 years in federal prison, as well as fines that
could run as high as $3.05 million.
The case is the product of an ongoing investigation by the DEA's
Office of Professional Responsibility in Washington, D.C. and the Los Angeles
offices of the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
and the United States Secret Service. The prosecution is being jointly
handled by the United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles and the Public
Integrity Section of the Criminal Division of the United States Department
of Justice in Washington.
Release No. 01-046
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