Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
Marco Antonio Delgado, 46, a former trustee at Carnegie Mellon University and Texas lawyer, faces charges of laundering more than $600 million for a Mexican drug cartel.
Delgado was arrested on November 2 at a restaurant in El Paso and was indicted in federal court in El Paso Thursday and asked Judge Norbert Garney to schedule a bond hearing for Wednesday.
Delgado pleaded not guilty to the charges which accuse him of conspiring to launder drug profits from July 2007 through December 2008 for a cartel based in Guadalajara, Mexico. If convicted, Delgado faces a maximum 20 year prison sentence.
The recently unsealed indictment does not provide details as to how Delgado planned to carry out the laundering, however, details may be revealed during a bond hearing Wednesday, when prosecutors attempt to convince the judge to keep Delgado in jail.
Records show that Delgado was an active philanthropist in the El Paso area, donating to the Symphony Orchestra, his alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University in an effort to set up a scholarship system, and was a member of the boards of educational charities.
Delgado’s family and attorney refused to comment on the matter.