A deputy U.S. Marshal has been arrested for allegedly disclosing the identity of an undercover agent who had infiltrated a Texas drug trafficking organization, the FBI announced Tuesday.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Lucio Osbaldo Moya, 29, has been charged with being an accessory after the fact and faces 20 years in prison if convicted.
A federal criminal complaint claims Moya revealed the identity of a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent to his father and a Starr County drug trafficking organization.
In June 2011, the HSI agent posed as a tractor-trailer driver and agreed to transport 1,800 pounds of marijuana for $50,000 for Francisco Javier Treviňo, 29, and Lauro Arturo Treviňo, Sr., 60. The shipment was eventually seized by agents, but Treviňo, Sr. later contacted the agent regarding the transportation of another load of marijuana.
Trinidad Dominguez, 43, and Juan Norberto Moya, 51, then allegedly asked Treviňo, Sr. to get more information concerning the undercover agent. Treviňo, Sr. asked Treviňo to get a copy of the undercover agent's driver's license. Treviňo, Sr. then got into an SUV and allegedly provided the license to its driver. A record check on the Texas license plate of that SUV showed that its registered owner was a brother of Dominguez.
On Oct. 5, 2011, Deputy U.S. Marshall Moya showed up at work with a copy of the undercover agent's driver's license. He had an analyst obtain a color copy of the license and showed it to another deputy U.S. Marshal, who told him the person was an HSI agent.
Subsequently, Deputy Marshal Moya was interviewed by agents with the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General. He said the license was given to him by his father, Juan Norberto Moya. He said his father got the copy from someone he knew only as "Lauro" and that the reason his father gave it to him was so he could pass it along to another agency in an effort to become a confidential source.
During the meeting, agents allegedly told Deputy Marshal Moya the HSI agent was working undercover conducting drug trafficking investigations, and all agreed to keep the information secret for the safety and well-being of the agent.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Moya left the meeting and allegedly sent a text message to his father indicating that the person depicted in the driver's license was a federal agent.