Illegal alien agent pleads guilty to all charges
By Neal Putnam
The Alpine Sun
SAN DIEGO — In a surprise move, a former Border Patrol agent — who was charged with conspiracy to smuggle aliens and who was an undocumented worker himself — has pleaded guilty to the entire indictment against him.
Sentencing for Oscar Antonio Ortiz, 28, was set for May 12 by U.S. District Court Judge John Houston. On Friday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Jennings said Ortiz faces a “theoretical sentence” of 33 years in federal prison if he were given consecutive terms for each crime, which is unlikely.
Jennings said there are “no deals” in the plea agreement and the sentence is up to the judge. She added there was “nothing dismissed” in the grand jury indictment.
Ortiz could receive a maximum $250,000 fine.
A sentence that falls within federal sentencing guidelines is expected, said Jennings, which is lower than the maximum. Jennings said her office
may ask for a term of 10 years, or less.
Attempts to reach Ortiz's attorney, Stephen White, were made, but he could not be reached for comment.
Ortiz was a Border Patrol agent for two-and-a-half years and worked at the El Cajon station. He resigned a day after his Aug. 4, 2005 arrest and remains without bail in the Metropolitan Correctional Center.
Ortiz admitted to entering into a conspiracy with unidentified persons to bring undocumented aliens into the U.S., and of making a false claim to his own citizenship.
Ortiz was born in Tijuana and is a Mexican citizen. He used the birthplace and birthday of someone his own age in Chicago.
How Ortiz was able to fool the Border Patrol into hiring him in 2001 has not been made public. Officials said they have fixed the problem in the hiring process about verifying American citizenship.
Ortiz also pleaded guilty to making a false statement to buy a handgun from a licensed firearms dealer in El Cajon and being an undocumented worker in possession of a firearm.
The defendant served on the USS Tarawa while in the Navy for four years, and Navy friends have sent favorable letters to a judge in urging lower bail.
In an earlier interview, his lawyer said he is “not a danger to anyone and has no history of violence.”
White said Ortiz attended local schools, including Southwestern College, and lived in the U.S. the “majority of his life.' He has received five Navy service awards and ribbons.
Ortiz lived with a girlfriend in San Diego who said she was shocked by the charges. The couple has an infant daughter.
White said he has heard that another Border Patrol agent, who has been cooperating with authorities, may have contributed to information that led to charges against his client. Ortiz and others' conversations were intercepted by wiretaps from April 15 to June 6, 2005, and those conversations included talk about smuggling illegal aliens.
The case involving the wiretaps was actually another investigation related to gangs in North County.
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