United States Drug Enforcement Administration

MADISON, Wis. - ― John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Humberto Fierro-Rascon, 41, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to eight years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute 50 kilograms or more of marijuana. Fierro-Rascon was convicted of this charge on January 14, 2015, after a three-day jury trial in federal court in Madison.

According to the testimony at trial, beginning in February 2013, investigators at the Federal Correctional Institution in Florence, Colo. began intercepting telephone calls made by an inmate, Fierro-Rascon, to other individuals regarding the importation of marijuana into the United States. Specifically, Fierro-Rascon arranged to smuggle a shipment of marijuana from Mexico to Christopher Johnson in northwest Wisconsin. Christopher Johnson was intercepted on numerous phone calls with Fierro-Rascon discussing providing money for the importation of marijuana from Mexico.

In June 2013, prison officials learned through intercepted telephone calls that Tommy Garcia was traveling to Mexico to pick up a load of marijuana for Fierro-Rascon. On June 20, 2013, Garcia and Magdelena Gonzales were stopped crossing the border from Mexico to El Paso, Texas. A search of their van uncovered 159 pounds of marijuana hidden in the roof of the van. The load of marijuana was intended for Christopher Johnson in Wisconsin.

Garcia and Gonzalez were prosecuted in federal court in El Paso. Garcia was sentenced to 60 months and Gonzalez to 30 months in federal prison after their convictions for illegally importing marijuana.

Fierro-Rascon’s co-conspirator Christopher Johnson, 33, Weyerhaeuser, Wis., pleaded guilty in federal court in Madison on July 9, 2014 to distributing marijuana and was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison.
The conviction of Fierro-Rascon is the result of an investigation by the Barron and Rusk County Sheriffs’ Departments; Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Bureau of Prisons; Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The prosecution of this case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Reinhard and Stephen Sinnott.

Parents and children are encouraged to educate themselves about the dangers of drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.JustThinkTwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov.