Caught at U.S. Border, Suspects Sent to Mexico to Face Charges No fear. That was the mantra of Mexican drug smugglers bringing marijuana into the United States. No fear of arrest. No fear of prosecution. The worst-kept secret on the border for years was that, until more recently, U.S. authorities would not even try to prosecute cases involving less than 500 pounds of marijuana. Furthermore, U.S. laws and rules of evidence that aim to ensure justice make some cases hard to stick. The most trouble that many small-time smugglers faced was a few days' inconvenience before being deported. [continues 1001 words]
Family, Friends Doubt Ties To Drug Traffickers Richard Cramer was first a foot soldier and then a leader in the war on drugs. He once ran the Nogales office of U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement and was twice assigned as an attache to Mexico. Incorruptible, dedicated, tireless - a cop's cop. That's how Cramer's family and friends describe the Sahuarita resident. But this week, Cramer's reputation was shattered when he admitted that he worked with Mexican drug dealers. In a Miami federal courthouse, Cramer, 56, pleaded guilty to obstructing justice by helping two drug traffickers avoid arrest, a felony that carries a maximum 20-year prison term. [continues 1541 words]
A coalition of church leaders, business executives, educators and community activists will push state and local lawmakers tonight for tougher laws on methamphetamine manufacturers, more money to care for the elderly and a reformation of immigration laws. About 2,000 people are expected to attend a 7 p.m. meeting at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in Phoenix, where the Arizona Interfaith Network will unveil its grass-roots agenda for next year's legislative session. "The next legislative session may become mired in anti-immigration measures, leaving such pressing issues as education, health care and the methamphetamine scourge on the sidelines," Arizona Interfaith Network President Dick White said. "That would be unacceptable." [continues 544 words]
U.S. Supreme Court Won't Hear Appeal A plan to kick convicted drug dealers out of Cincinnati neighborhoods that began seven years ago ended Monday at the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court refused to hear a case on the so-called "drug exclusion zone," which a federal appeals court called unconstitutional and an "extreme measure." Undeterred, city officials are now pushing local judges to enforce the exclusion zones in a different way - by making it a condition of probation. [continues 498 words]
