Chicago Twins Sentenced - Two twin brothers who ran a big Chicago drug distribution ring for Mexican drug cartels have been sentenced to 14 years in prison on Tuesday.
33-year-old Pedro and Margarito Flores ran a massive international drug ring- moving about 1,500 to 2,000 kilograms of cocaine into the US monthly and sending nearly $1.8 billion dollars back to the Sinaloa and Beltran Leyva cartels in Mexico.
The U.S. born twins ran their operations via telephones from a Mexican ranch, their network spanned Chicago, New York, Detroit, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Vancouver and British Columbia.
They were certainly going to face life in prison, but received a reduced sentence because they turned themselves in and co-operated. In 2008, the Flores twins contacted the U.S. government, turning themselves in and risking their lives to go uncover and infiltrate some of the most dangerous drug cartels.
At the US District Court in Chicago, prosecutors said the Flores twins were arguably the most valuable drug dealers turned-informants in the history of the fight against drug trafficking.
The government asked for a sentence around 10 and not exceeding 16 years in prison, citing that the identical twins' co-operation led to arrest of Mexican cartel leaders including Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and 50 others.
Chief US District Judge Ruben Castillo gave the brothers a 14 year sentence because of the devastation their actions had brought on the country as a whole.
"But for your co-operation, you'd be leaving here with life sentences...for this devastation of our country with drugs."
He added that in 20 years they were the biggest drug dealers to appear on his courtroom, and as a result they would have live the rest of their lives in fear of the retaliations from the cartels.
"Even though I am not going to sentence you to life, you are leaving here with a life sentence," Castillo to the Chicago twins. "Each time you start your car (when you are out of prison), you are going to be wondering, is it going to start, or will it explode."
In their first public appearance since pleading guilty to a count of drug conspiracy in 2012, the Flores twins, who wore the same olive-green clothes, apologized for their actions and thanked the court for their reduced sentence.
"I'm ashamed, I'm embarrassed, I'm grateful," Margarito Flores said. "There is no excuse."
"I want to thank the United States (and federal agents).....for allowing the opportunity not to spend my life in prison," Pedro said.
Reports indicate that their father Margarito Flores Sr. has been kidnapped and killed by the cartels after it became known that the twins are cooperating with the government.
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