A federal grand jury in Denver has indicted the head of an alleged Mexican crime family that authorities say controls one of the largest document- forgery rings ever to operate in the U.S.
The indictments of Pedro Castorena-Ibarra and a chief lieutenant were the result of a five-year, multi-agency effort to disassemble the sophisticated operation, which has cells in Denver and other major cities, said William Leone, Denver’s acting U.S. attorney.
Despite the July 11 indictment and a 1995 Texas indictment on similar but less serious charges, Castorena-Ibarra remains a fugitive in Mexico.
It will take cooperation from the Mexican government to arrest and extradite him, said Marcy Forman, director of investigation for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Forman, based in Washington, D.C., said her agency has an excellent relationship with Mexican authorities. She said it is easier to extradite criminals from Mexico when there is no threat of the death penalty.
“We feel relatively confident that we can work together,” she said.
For $80 to $300, buyers allegedly could get fake Social Security cards, ID cards, birth certificates and other documents from the ring, which reportedly operated out of a coin-operated laundry, a meat market and a flea market in the metro area.
The Denver branch created documents that were distributed nationwide, said Leone. The organization, which law enforcement authorities have pursued on a piecemeal basis over the last decade, has operated in numerous cities including Los Angeles; Chicago; Atlanta; Albuquerque; Lincoln, Neb.; and Winston-Salem, N.C.
Since authorities in Denver began investigating the operation and a competing forgery ring, they have seized 20 computerized document-manufacturing setups, tens of thousands of blank identity documents, nine handguns and more than $100,000.
Authorities are concerned the documents were being used not only by illegal immigrants but by drug smugglers, money launderers and potential terrorists.
In January, authorities raided an Aurora apartment and seized several hundred counterfeit documents and supplies. They also found 21 printing templates and negatives used to create fake security seals and holograms.
“That’s the Holy Grail for these guys,” Jeff Copp, head of the local Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, said of the ability to imitate security features such as holograms. “They are hard to make.”
Castorena-Ibarra faces fraud and money-laundering charges that could send him to prison for 20 years, Leone said.
Staff writer Alicia Caldwell can be reached at 303-820-1930 or acaldwell@denverpost.com.
