The State - News from Sept. 30, 1988

An apparent major figure in a ring that planned to smuggle 5 tons of cocaine through San Francisco International Airport was sentenced in San Francisco federal court to 30 years in prison without possibility of parole. Simon C. Sotelo, 45, of San Jose, believed to be second in command of the ring, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute 13 kilograms of cocaine, distribution of cocaine and money laundering. Nearly two dozen suspects were in the organization that dealt directly with the notorious Medellin drug family, said Assistant U.S. Atty. J. Stephen Graham. The suspected leader of the plot, Alvaro Echavarria Olarte, 50, of Medellin, Colombia, was convicted earlier this year of conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine.