Opinion ID: 2799450
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Quarter-Horse Race Fixing

Text: Members of Los Zetas paid bribes to give Miguel Trevino’s horse an unfair advantage at the 2010 All American Futurity Race—the Kentucky Derby of quarter-horse races. Mario Cuellar, a Los Zetas subordinate, testified that Miguel Trevino instructed him to pay $110,000 in bribes to gate starters— 6 Case: 13-50849 Document: 00513035268 Page: 7 Date Filed: 05/07/2015 No. 13-50849; cons. w/ No. 13-51003 $10,000 each—to give Trevino’s horse, Mr. Piloto, an advantage in the race. With Miguel and Omar Trevino and other Los Zetas leaders watching the race via an internet connection, Mr. Piloto won the race by a nose—even though he had the slowest qualifying time. As a reward for having successfully paid off all the starters, Miguel Trevino rewarded Carlos Nayen with 10 kilograms of cocaine. B. The Appellants’ Roles in the Money-Laundering Conspiracy Two of the Appellants were allegedly key players in the horse-racing and money-laundering operation. Jose Trevino Morales (Jose Trevino) is Miguel and Omar Trevino’s brother, and he operated a horse ranch and related companies. With money from Los Zetas, he helped his brothers acquire as many as 500 horses. Francisco “Pancho” Colorado Cessa (Colorado) is a wealthy businessman who, the government alleges, acted as an intermediary through whom Los Zetas purchased horses. Colorado’s relationship with Los Zetas began with Efrain Torres, also known as “Zeta 14,” a now-deceased leader of Los Zetas. Torres gave Colorado $6 million in startup capital for Colorado’s oil-services company, ADT Petro Servicios (ADT). The other two Appellants, Eusevio Huitron and Fernando Garcia–Solis, had comparatively minor roles. Garcia–Solis translated for a Los Zetas subordinate, Carlos Nayen, and assisted Nayen with cash deliveries, auctions, and other aspects of the horse operations. Eusevio Huitron worked as a horse trainer for Miguel Trevino for nearly two years. He accepted significant cash payments from Los Zetas for his horse-training services—$505,007 in total. Each Appellant’s specific involvement in the conspiracy is discussed in greater detail below.