By Kimberly James; WBAP and KLIF News, Dallas, Texas.
NEW YORK – (WBAP/KLIF) – A former longtime Drug Enforcement Administration agent who rose to help oversee the agency’s financial operations has been charged with agreeing to launder millions of dollars in narcotics proceeds for Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel, according to an indictment unsealed on Friday in Federal District Court in Manhattan.
Paul Campo, with the DEA for 25 years, is charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute narcotics, conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The indictment alleges Campo laundered about $750,000 for the Jalisco Cartel by converting cash into cryptocurrency and agreed to launder as much as 12 million dollars. Investigators also allege he provided payment for more than 200 kilos of cocaine, understanding the drugs had been smuggled into the United States.
Prosecutors allege Campo would also make investments into real estate, and maintain he and another individual explored the procurement of commercial drones and military-grade weapons and equipment for the cartel, including AR-15 semi-automatic rifles, M4 carbines, M16 rifles, grenade launchers and rocket-propelled grenades. The investigation asserts Campo and a confidential source greatly relied on Campo’s prior federal law enforcement experience regarding both financial investigations and drug cartels.
Campo held several key positions during his career with the DEA. He was Acting Chief of the Office of Congressional Affairs from 2004 to 2005; principal advisor to then Administrator Karen Tandy on all congressional related matters. Promoted to DEA’s Executive Staff, he worked as an Executive Assistant for the Office of Chief Counsel from 2005 to 2008.
From 1998 to 2003, Campo held the positions of Acting Regional Director for the Europe and Africa regions , where he also served as the Consulate General’s personal advisor to all issues concerning narcotics trafficking.
Campo spent years as a field agent before those posts, assigned to the multi-agency Southeast Asian Heroin Task Force in New York, and as back-up supervisor in the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, the agency’s oldest and most successful state and local cooperative initiative.
In 2016, Campo began Global Financial Consultants, a business described as per its website; “GFC brings decades of government experience and a global network that can examine anti-money laundering safeguards, locate and recover assets, and enhance your business development”.
The DEA’s official statement regarding the indictment: “The indictment of former Special Agent Paul Campo sends a powerful message: those who betray the public trust—past or present—will be held to account to the fullest extent of the law,” said DEA Administrator Terrance C. Cole. “The alleged conduct occurred after he left DEA and was unrelated to his official duties here, but any former agent who chooses to engage in criminal activity dishonors the men and women who serve with integrity and undermines the public’s confidence in law enforcement. We will not look the other way simply because someone once wore this badge. There is no tolerance and no excuse for this kind of betrayal.”
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