Former state trooper who assisted his father’s drug trafficking organization sentenced to 18 months in prison
McALLEN, TEXAS (ValleyCentral) — A former state trooper who assisted his father’s drug trafficking organization was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Thursday.
Pablo Talavera Jr., 36, of Pharr ran a license plate through a law enforcement database for his father, a drug smuggler who transported methamphetamine from Texas to Tennessee.
“He’s made a terrible mistake,” said attorney Carlos A. Garcia of Mission, who represented Talavera Jr. “To which he has admitted. And accepted responsibility.”
Talavera Jr. graduated from the University of Texas-Pan American and joined the Texas Department of Public Safety in June 2015.
Other members of the Talavera family picked a different path.
His father, Pablo Talavera Sr., and his uncle, Elias Talavera, headed a drug trafficking organization that smuggled “large quantities of methamphetamine” from the Rio Grande Valley to Jackson, Tennessee, according to documents filed by federal prosecutors.
In April 2019, smugglers from Reynosa kidnapped Talavera Sr. after the government seized $500,000 in drug money.
Talavera Jr. and other members of the family met to discuss the kidnapping, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case. After talking about what happened, they determined the kidnapping was drug-related.
When he was questioned by the FBI, however, Talavera Jr. said he didn’t know his father smuggled drugs.
In August 2019 — just two months after the kidnapping — the FBI started investigating the Talavera family drug trafficking organization.
Agents arranged for an informant to meet with Talavera Sr. During a series of conversations in 2019 and 2020, he told the informant how the drug trafficking organization worked.
They hid methamphetamine in oxygen tanks with false bottoms, according to documents filed by federal prosecutors, and hired U-Pack, a moving company, to deliver the oxygen tanks to Tennessee.
Talavera Sr. also bragged about his connections.
“In the course of the investigation, FBI agents learned that Talavera, Sr. made representations that he had family members, both in corrections and with probation, that could assist him with obtaining information for the benefit of the Talavera DTO,” according to a criminal complaint filed in the case. “Talavera Sr. also claimed to have an attorney friend who could get Talavera Sr. any information on any case for a fee of several thousand dollars.”
Perhaps his most important connection, though, was Talavera Jr.
An informant told the FBI that Talavera Jr. protected drug shipments and provided the organization with sensitive law enforcement information.
Agents set up a sting operation.
In July 2021, an informant told Talavera Sr. the Department of Public Safety had impounded a silver Dodge Avenger in Live Oak County, according to the criminal complaint. The informant told Talavera Sr. the Dodge Avenger contained drug money and provided him with the car’s license plate number.
Less than two weeks later, Talavera Sr. provided the informant with the car’s registration information.
The FBI asked the Department of Public Safety to see if anyone had searched for the license plate number in the Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunications System database.
An audit conducted by the Department of Public Safety showed Talavera Jr.’s account had conducted the search.
The FBI arrested Talavera Jr. in October 2021.
A grand jury charged Talavera Jr. with conspiracy to possess 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and 1 kilogram or more of heroin with intent to distribute.
Faced with a minimum of 10 years in prison, Talavera Jr. struck a deal with prosecutors.
Talavera Jr. pleaded guilty to making a false statement to federal agents in April 2019, when his father was kidnapped. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop the drug charge.
The deal reduced the risk that Talavera Jr. would spend time in prison. The maximum sentence for making a false statement to a federal agent is just 3 years.
When he returned to court Thursday for sentencing, Talavera Jr. read from a prepared statement.
He apologized to God, the community and his family. He acknowledged that he took an oath and “fell short.” And he promised to become a better person.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jesse Salazar, who prosecuted the case, said Talavera Jr. had damaged trust in law enforcement.
“It has a very profound, corrosive effect on law enforcement as a whole,” Salazar said.
Alvarez, the federal judge, said U.S. Sentencing Commission guidelines recommended a sentence of 0 to 6 months in prison.
She asked Talavera Jr. to identify the “mistake” he made.
Talavera Jr. said he didn’t tell the truth about his father. He didn’t mention running the license plate through a law enforcement database.
Alvarez said that Talavera Jr. hadn’t just remained silent about his family, he’d taken action to assist them.
“Corruption corrupts not just that particular individual,” Alvarez said, “but it corrupts the community.”
Alvarez sentenced Talavera Jr. to 18 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release.