Top Mexican Officer Accused of Corruption; Assets Seized

Authorities have seized ranches, houses and a trucking business that belong to a Federal Judicial Police commandant with suspected ties to drug dealers, the Federal Prosecutor’s office announced Friday.

Guillermo Gonzalez Calderoni is accused of illegally enriching himself in office, a sign that Mexico’s new attorney general, Jorge Carpizo, is combatting drug-related corruption by employing a strategy similar to the tax-evasion charges that American authorities used to prosecute mobsters during Prohibition.

Gonzalez Calderoni is the highest-ranking federal police officer accused of that crime, at least in recent years, said a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor. He was among the most powerful of Mexico’s 32 commandants, the top district officer for the federal agency primarily responsible for drug enforcement.

Alleged corruption in the top ranks of law enforcement is considered a major impediment here to fighting drugs. Prosecutors said in a statement that they are investigating possible ties between Gonzalez Calderoni and Juan Garcia Abrego and Luis Garcia Medrano, whom officials called suspected American drug dealers.

A Federal Comptroller’s Office audit found that, since Gonzalez Calderoni became a commandant in 1985, he has acquired real estate worth nearly $4 million on a salary of less than $1,700 a month. “It is evident that such property could not be purchased on the public servant’s salary that Gonzalez Calderoni received,” the prosecutor’s office said.

In the annual declaration required of government employees, Gonzalez Calderoni declared assets of $50,000.

Under Mexican law, it is considered proof of illegal enrichment if an individual has a disproportionate increase in assets and cannot show they were legally acquired.

Gonzalez Calderoni’s assets included a company with 10 tractor-trailers in Cadereyta, Nuevo Leon, about 100 miles from McAllen, Tex. He also owned about 500 head of cattle.

Gonzalez Calderoni faces up to 14 years in prison. He was fired Thursday and is believed to be in the United States. Neither he nor his lawyer could be reached for comment.