Border Patrol agent in Laredo aids smugglers

The border continues to corrupt law enforcement on both sides, due to the huge amounts of money that can be made.

LAREDO, Texas — Calls from a Border Patrol agent's wife to him while he was on duty helped illegal immigrants on buses slip through a checkpoint.

Prosecutors say 32-year-old David Cruz and 35-year-old Susana Lopez-Portillo De Cruz pleaded guilty Thursday in Laredo to conspiring to transport and harbor illegal immigrants.

The case involved three 2007 incidents — in January, July and September — when a total of 25 illegal immigrants were bused from Laredo.

Prosecutors say Cruz would get calls from his wife letting him know the number of a particular bus and when it likely would reach his checkpoint so he could let it pass.

Cruz resigned in September.

Ex-BP agent in Laredo, wife in smuggling conspiracy | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle