U.S. Border Inspector Gets 12 Years for Helping Smuggle Drugs, Immigrants

A former U.S. immigration inspector who aided drug and immigrant smugglers was sentenced Friday to 12 1/2 years in prison in one of the most significant border corruption cases in recent years.

Richard Lawrence Pineda, who was convicted of smuggling and racketeering in April after a three-week trial, apologized in papers filed in federal court.

“For the rest of my life, I will regret what I did and how I ruined my life,” he wrote.

Federal prosecutor Ed Weiner argued for a sentence of 15 1/2 years, saying that Pineda, 42, only expressed remorse after the conviction.

“We thought it was a little late in the game to ask for the mercy of the court,” Weiner told reporters outside the courtroom.

Pineda worked for 12 years as an inspector at the San Ysidro port of entry, which links San Diego and Tijuana. Inspectors have the power to decide who may enter the country directly and who must submit to a more thorough inspection.

Prosecutors alleged that Pineda accepted at least $350,000 to allow cars carrying 3,500 pounds of marijuana and 23 illegal immigrants to enter the United States.

A Tijuana police officer, who is not in custody and remains on the force, coordinated the scheme, federal authorities said.