Press Release
FORMER U.S. CUSTOMS & BORDER PATROL OFFICER CONVICTED OF BRIBERY IN ALIEN SMUGGLING OPERATION
February 19, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Donald Balberchak, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, Mike Foster, Special Agent in Charge, United State Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, Steven Mocsary, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Office of Professional Responsibility, Anthony V. Mangione, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Office of Investigation, and Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that defendant Ronald Howard Merker, a former Customs and Border Protection patrol officer assigned to Miami International Airport, was convicted by a jury in Federal District Court in Miami.
Merker was convicted of one count of bribery, one count of conspiracy to bring aliens into the United States for financial gain, and five counts of alien smuggling. Merker is scheduled to be sentenced in May 2008. He faces maximum penalties of fifteen years on the bribery charge, five years on the conspiracy charge, and three to ten years for each count of alien smuggling.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, the United State Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, the United States Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Office of Professional Responsibility, the United States Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Office of Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys William White, Benjamin Daniel, and Eloisa Fernandez.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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