DPNR’s Tapia Faces Additional Charges in Drug Trafficking Case

 

Department of Planning and Natural Resources’ former Director of Enforcement Roberto Tapia was hauled back to V.I. District Court last week to face new charges related to the drug trafficking ring he is accused of running with help from former St. John  Police Sergeant Angelo Hill.

In addition to the charges of conspiracy to posses with intent to distribute cocaine and use of a firearm in drug trafficking which he already faces, Tapia is now charged with seeking bribes for DPNR contracts, embezzling federal money and illegally selling DPNR equipment, according to a recent report in the V.I. Daily News.

Tapia was originally nabbed by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents on May 17 and charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and use of a firearm in drug trafficking.

Tapia was arrested in Red Hook wearing a DPNR uniform and carrying his department-issued handgun, after returning on the ferry from St. John in possession of seven kilograms of cocaine with a potential street value of $1 million in his backpack, according to authorities.

Former V.I. Police Department St. John Chief and Acting Commander of the island’s Leander Jurgen Command Sgt. Angelo Hill was arrested on May 24 and charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. Federal agents allege that Hill supplied Tapia with the drugs which were found in Tapia’s backpack when he was arrested.

Two other co-conspirators, Stephen Torres and Eddie Lopez-Lopez both of Puerto Rico, were also arrested in mid-May. They too face charges of cocaine possession with intent to distribute for allegedly setting up the purchase of several kilograms of cocaine from Tapia.

According to a new indictment made public last week, Tapia faces charges under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) accused of abusing his position with DPNR to further a criminal conspiracy.

The former DPNR officer also now faces charges of interstate travel in aid of racketeering because he travelled to the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to arrange drug shipments, according to the report in the V.I. Daily News.

“The new charges against Tapia include multiple counts each of federal program theft, conflict of interest, embezzlement, wire fraud, extortion, solicitation of a bribe and interstate transportation of stolen goods,” according to the report. “In addition, the indictment includes new charges of possession and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine reflecting illicit sales of at least 58 kilograms of cocaine from September 2012 to May.”

Tapia stands accused of attempting to extort $40,000 from a St. Thomas business owner in exchange for a DPNR contract, according to the report.

Since the disgraced public official used DPNR vessels to transport drugs and conduct illegal activity, he faces embezzlement and federal program theft charges stemming from two State Recreational Boating Safety Program grants issued by the U.S. Coast Guard, each in excess of $10,000. The funds are supposed to provide facilities, equipment and supplies for boating safety education and law enforcement, according to the V.I. Daily News report.

Two new co-conspirators, Raymond Brown and Edwin Monsanto, were also arrested, advised of their rights and arraigned in V.I. District Court last week.

Brown, an alleged cocaine supplier and distributor, pleaded not guilty Wednesday, July 24, to two charges of conspiracy with  intent to distribute cocaine and federal use of a communication facility to facilitate a drug crime, according to a report on the St. Thomas Source website.

V.I. District Court Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller released Brown to home confinement on a $250,000 bail, which was covered by his family putting its 10-acre Estate Dorethea property up for collateral, according to the report on St. Thomas Source.

Monsanto also pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and use of a communication facility to facilitate a drug crime, according to the report.

Miller granted Monsanto home confinement on a $250,000 bail after his family pledged to put their St. Thomas and St. John land up for collateral, according to the St. Thomas Source report.

Tapia, Hill, Lopez-Lopez and Torres last week also all renewed their pleas of not guilty to all charges laid out in the new indictment, according to the report.

Tapia was arrested on May 17 in Red Hook after returning from St. John with 7.72 kilograms of cocaine. Federal agents allege that Hill supplied Tapia with the cocaine; handing it over from an unmarked VIPD vehicle in front of FirstBank VI, in the heart of Cruz Bay, according to the initial arrest affidavit.

Federal agents listening to phone conversations between Tapia, Hill and a buyer in Puerto Rico, received word that Tapia was “meeting with unknown individuals from Puerto Rico on the waters near St. Thomas, USVI, to pick up a large amount of money in association with the purchase of multiple kilograms of cocaine,” according to the initial affidavit.

Agents watched as Tapia, using a DPNR vessel, met up with a power boat near Sail Rock off St. Thomas on May 17, according to that affidavit.

Tapia was under surveillance when he was seen taking a backpack from the second vessel. He took the backpack with him from the DPNR boat and was seen putting it in his DPNR pick-up truck.

Agents listened in as Tapia called Hill and asked if he could pick up “seven of those girls,” according to the affidavit.

“‘Girls’ were code for kilograms of cocaine,” according to the government document.

Federal agents watched as Tapia boarded the 7 p.m. ferry from Red Hook to St. John carrying the backpack. Tapia exited the ferry and sat down on a bench in Cruz Bay, according to the initial affidavit.

Agents listened as Hill told Tapia over the phone to walk in the direction of the bank where Hill was parked in his unmarked VIPD Envoy, according to that affidavit.

Tapia was seen walking back to the ferry dock with the backpack which was now “carrying significantly more,” according to the document.

When Tapia exited the 8 p.m. ferry in Red Hook, he was nabbed by federal agents and the contents of the backpack proved to be 7.72 kilograms of cocaine.

The next day, May 18, Lopez-Lopez and Torres, the men in the power boat from Puerto Rico, were arrested by federal agents. On Friday, May 24, federal agents arrested Hill.

The trial is expected to begin in September.