Opinion ID: 507327
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Chavez-Tesina

Text: 47 Chavez-Tesina's convictions arose primarily out of his involvement in the 50 kilogram transaction. Salazar described his partner to de la Cova as a Colombian of Japanese descent who had lived in London. Chavez-Tesina matched the physical description and possessed a British driver's license and Colombian passport when he was arrested. When Salazar told de la Cova that his partner was travelling in New Orleans, independent evidence established that Chavez-Tesina was in fact then in New Orleans. 48 More important, there was testimony to the effect that Chavez-Tesina was in New Orleans looking for cocaine that would be acceptable in the New York market. As the transaction approached accomplishment, Salazar made telephone calls to Chavez-Tesina's home, confirmed by a pen register. The subject of these calls was the cocaine transaction. In one call, Salazar referred to the other party as Diego, Chavez-Tesina's first name. The jury was entitled to believe that this evidence linked Chavez-Tesina to Salazar, the RICO enterprise, and the 50-kilogram deal.