Mexican Drug Cartels Laundering Money Thru Horse Racing

[Hollywoodmike]

WASHINGTON — The unlikeliest of marriages — the most violent Mexican drug cartel and the world of U.S. quarter horse racing — ended with the arrest Tuesday of one of the top men in the Los Zetas drug trafficking ring after U.S. officials began suspecting an uncanny run of good fortune at the track and the laundering of millions of dollars in drug proceeds.

Arrested were Jose Trevino Morales, his wife, and five associates. They were taken into U.S. custody after scores of FBI agents in all-terrain vehicles and helicopters raided horse stables and ranches near Ruidoso, N.M., and Lexington, Okla.

Working on a tip from more than two years ago, law enforcement officials learned that the Zetas were laundering up to $1 million a month through the quarter horse industry. In federal charges unsealed in Texas, Trevino and the others were indicted for laundering drug profits by “purchasing, training, breeding and racing American quarter horses.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nati ... 9210.story

[Vince P]

WASHINGTON — The unlikeliest of marriages — the most violent Mexican drug cartel and the world of U.S. quarter horse racing — ended with the arrest Tuesday of one of the top men in the Los Zetas drug trafficking ring after U.S. officials began suspecting an uncanny run of good fortune at the track and the laundering of millions of dollars in drug proceeds.

Arrested were Jose Trevino Morales, his wife, and five associates. They were taken into U.S. custody after scores of FBI agents in all-terrain vehicles and helicopters raided horse stables and ranches near Ruidoso, N.M., and Lexington, Okla.

Working on a tip from more than two years ago, law enforcement officials learned that the Zetas were laundering up to $1 million a month through the quarter horse industry. In federal charges unsealed in Texas, Trevino and the others were indicted for laundering drug profits by “purchasing, training, breeding and racing American quarter horses.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nati ... 9210.story

I thought it quite ironic that one of the horses these creeps owned was named "Easy Cartel" or some loving bulllove like that.

Vince P

[Igeteven]

Done in Vegas all the time, why not horse racing

Bridge jumpers ?

[Vtexposfan]

I just shared this thread on a Facebook friend's wall, and my thumbnail choices were Vince P's and Lester's avatars.

[Kermit]

Usually when one launders money you do it in a way to get back most of it clean.
Buying and claiming horses where you can have some control over how, when and where they race, or just to be known as a racetrack regular
doesn't seem to me to be the way to riches. That's just something the dumb clods do already and maybe 10 out of 10,000 really make a killing,
if you don't count the two years they paid while the horses were growing up. And betting as a whale every day certainly doesn't guarantee massive profits.

I don't get it.





Slow in Vegas

PS: Ok, I guess they set up this infastructer of buyers, farms, etc and overcharge everything with the drug money.
Just like trainers do now.

[White Hat]

How about buying American horses who in turn run in match races in Mexico for much more then they do in the United States

[Kermit]

How about buying American horses who in turn run in match races in Mexico for much more then they do in the United States

Still gotta feed 'um, shoe 'um, vet bills, room and board.

[White Hat]

Funny how EVERYONE involved from the sales rings to the racetracks knew what was going on and welcomed this type of money into their game. Been looking at various Quarter Horse websites (Los Alamitos, AQHA, Ed Burgart Twitter) and find nothing even mentioning this story. Los Al ran 13 trials loaded with horses from this crew with 3 of them qualifing for a race worth over a million to be run June 24th and now I am curious to see how this plays out. Maybe these horses can run for the United States with red white and blue silks and purse money can go to taxpayers!

[Kermit]

"...Maybe these horses can run for the United States with red white and blue silks and purse money can go to taxpayers! ..."

Yes, right after a city names their new sports stadium "--------- Taxpayer's Stadium".

[RelaunchRMH]

Funny how EVERYONE involved from the sales rings to the racetracks knew what was going on and welcomed this type of money into their game. Been looking at various Quarter Horse websites (Los Alamitos, AQHA, Ed Burgart Twitter) and find nothing even mentioning this story...

Was thinking exactly the same thing when I went to the Los Alamitos website and there was not ONE word about this huge news in the quarter horse racing world. Then again, that's pretty par for the course.