#federal-sentencing

#federal-sentencing

As an employee of the popular Chinese food chain living in Mexico, Salamanca-Benitez was "in the throes of a gambling addiction" and struggling to make ends meet, his attorney wrote in court filings. His solution was to broker several high-end methamphetamine deals over the phone, leading to a drug courier taking a total of 30 pounds of the drug to an undercover DEA agent in San Jose and Redwood City, court records show.

OAKLAND A man who allegedly struck it rich through fentanyl sales in the Bay Area has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison, court records show. Milton Varela-Arteaga, 29, was sentenced last month by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, after pleading guilty to possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl. He must serve a four-year supervised release term afterwards, but because he's already been deported to Honduras once, a similar fate likely awaits him after completion of his prison term, according to court records.

Enrique Arenal, 33, pulled a gun on the employees and stole two bags containing marijuana, as well as personal items from both victims, in the June 2021 incident, according to federal prosecutors. As he "scouted" the area one day earlier, he had observed the same two victims loading bags into their vehicle and had "good reason" to suspect that the bags contained marijuana, authorities said in court filings.

Public servants are entrusted to assist people, not exploit them," Foley said. "This was a brazen abuse of power by a federal employee who used his position and access to sensitive information to prey on a vulnerable woman who had just lost her job. This kind of predatory behavior has no place in public service, or anywhere else.

Christopher Terranova, a former NYPD officer, was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting minors, following his conviction on multiple charges.