The former Mexican Secretary of Defense, Salvador Cienfuegos, has a new lawyer: it is about Edward V. Soap, from the firm Sapone & Petrillo and who defended a high-profile implicated in the case of the NXIVM sex sect.
Cienfuegos was arrested on October 15, upon arrival at the Los Angeles, California airport, accused by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York of drug trafficking Y money laundering.
During his time in detention in Los Angeles, he was defended by attorney Duane R. Lyons, of the Quinn Emanuel firm.
Also read: AMLO will ask for Cienfuegos arrest report when US election passes
But now that Cienfuegos has already been transferred to New York, Sapone will be his new defender. Founding partner of Sapone & Petrillo, LLP, this attorney focuses on federal criminal defense and white collar litigation.
He has handled cases such as one involving Central Intelligence Agency agents tasked with protecting Barbara and Jenna Bush, wife and daughter of former President George W. Bush.
He was also the advocate for actress Nicki Clyne, wife of fellow artist Allison Mack. Clyne confessed to having been part of NXIVM, the sex cult whose leader, Keith Raniere, was sentenced to life imprisonment. Clyne denied that the group was created “for Keith to have sexual partners.”
Also read: Salvador Cienfuegos is already in New York, they report
Sapone is also a criminal defense advisor to the government of Mexico through its consulate in New York, says his biography on the firm’s website.
The bio mentions that throughout his career, “Sapone has convinced prosecutors to drop a case or agree not to press charges. His representation as an advisor to a president of Mexico resulted in no criminal charges being filed ”.
The crimes for which Cienfuegos is accused were committed between 2015 and 2017, when he was Secretary of Defense in Mexico.
Also read: Mexico expressed its “deep discontent” to the US for not having reported the Cienfuegos case: Ebrard
The letter of the Prosecutor’s Office, signed by the head of the Eastern District of New York, Richard Donoghue, accuses Cienfuegos of being involved in the production, trafficking and distribution of 1,000 kilograms of marijuana, 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, five kilograms or more of cocaine and a kilogram of heroin.
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