Opinion ID: 173724
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Intercepted Phone Calls

Text: On May 26, 2007, Altamirano received a call in Spanish from a man later identified as Verdugo. In that call, placed from a California cell phone number, Verdugo told Altamirano to get ready as he would have a little dinner for Altamirano by Monday. Verdugo indicated that he planned to drop off some things and instructed Altamirano to come this way... some fifty [50] or sixty [60] miles from where eighty-four [84] is by nine [9] one [1]. Agents interpreted this to mean that Verdugo planned to deliver drugs to Altamirano on Monday, May 28, 2007 in the Hartford, Connecticut area, near the intersection of Interstate 84 and Interstate 91. Over the next several days, agents intercepted a number of additional coded conversations detailing the planned drug transaction. The day after Verdugo's call, an unidentified man phoned Altamirano from Mexico and stated, [M]y mom[ ] is going over there, to which Altamirano responded that he would be waiting for her. The unidentified caller also told Altamirano that the month of February brings twenty-nine [29], and that he would leave Altamirano in charge to get the medicine and give it to these people. Agents interpreted this to mean that a drug delivery of 29 kilograms was to take place as Verdugo's call had indicated. Subsequent calls revealed that the transaction had been delayed but was expected to occur on Tuesday, May 29, 2007. On Tuesday evening, Altamirano called Verdugo and Verdugo assured Altamirano that he was almost arriving and that Altamirano should come over ... to the side where the Simpsons live. Agents understood this to be a reference to The Simpsons, a television show set in a town called Springfield, and inferred that the drug transaction would occur near Springfield, Massachusetts, which is approximately 30 miles north of Hartford along Interstate 91. Altamirano told Verdugo that he would set out to meet him when Verdugo arrived at the actual rendezvous site, and instructed Verdugo to call him with a nearby exit number upon arrival. Verdugo estimated that he would arrive between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m.