‘They Were the Top of the Line’ : Colombian Sisters Get 25 Years for Drug Roles

LOS ANGELES —  In what prosecutors termed a crippling blow to a major distribution arm of a Colombian cocaine cartel, two Colombian sisters were sentenced to more than 25 years in prison Monday in federal court for overseeing a network that poured tons of cocaine into Southern California.

Flor Mary Restrepo, 31, drew a 30-year sentence for her role as director of the distribution system and for using her teen-age sister to help her. Another sister, Luz Marina Restrepo, 34, was sentenced to 26 years and eight months for helping to manage it. Seven other friends and family members received terms ranging from 19 to 25 years in prison for lesser roles.

The sentences stemmed from the April 10 seizure in Orange County of 1,166 pounds of cocaine with a street value of $198 million, one of the biggest cocaine hauls in county history.

Police, who had the suspects under surveillance for two months, found 946 pounds of the drug in a van parked in a shopping center on Beach Boulevard between Edinger and Heil avenues. An additional 220 pounds was seized in a rented home in the 15900 block of Prince Circle in Westminster.

“These convictions reflect a victory for the government and all the citizens of our country in this monumental war on cocaine which we are currently fighting,” said U.S. Atty. Gary Feess. “When cocaine in this quantity is seized, it brings into perspective the magnitude of the problem we face.”

Gary Bitterolf, one of the Los Angeles police detectives on the case, said he believes the Restrepo organization was distributing at least 3,000 pounds of cocaine each week throughout Southern California and as far away as New York.

“They were the top of the line around here,” he said. “When the cocaine came to L.A., they were in charge. They were high-ranking people (in the cartel) and very well-trusted.”

Chief U.S. District Judge Manuel Real said the amount of cocaine involved and the “sophistication” of the enterprise warranted tough sentences.

Most of the defense attorneys argued that their clients could not be linked directly to the drug transactions. One attorney, David Wood, told the judge that even jailing “every Colombian on the face of the Earth” would not stop America’s drug problem.

But Assistant U.S. Atty. Susan Bryant-Deason said after the hearing that harsh prison terms are a critical part of the solution.

“As much as the American public has to look at itself and its insatiable desire for drugs, we have to address this problem on all levels,” she said. “When we catch people with this much cocaine, they have to be punished.”

Herbert Weit, who represented the Restrepo sisters, told Real there was no evidence proving they were in charge of the distribution ring. Luz Restrepo--herself a lawyer--and Flor Restrepo grew up in a wealthy Colombian family and are “well-trained not to be in the drug business,” he said.

The Restrepos’ brother, Faber Restrepo, 26, drew a term of 21 years and eight months, and Luz Restrepo’s husband, Carlos Montoya, 33, was sentenced to 23 years and three months. Both helped facilitate the drug distribution by buying cars, beepers and portable phones, Bryant-Deason said.

Claudio Roger Martinez, 27, convicted of driving the van brimming with 946 pounds of cocaine to the shopping center parking lot, where it was seized by police, was sentenced to 23 years and three months. Luis Monsalve, 23, and Juan Casanova, 35, the two men who met Martinez in the parking lot to pick up the cocaine for further distribution, were each sentenced to 19 years.

Olga Naranjo Garcia, 32, and Janeth Naranjo Garcia, 30, each drew 25 years for renting “stash houses” where the drugs were kept.