Iroquois County Man to Serve 20 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking Kilograms of Cocaine

Urbana, Ill. - U.S. District Court Judge Colin S. Bruce today sentenced Valeriano J., aka ‘Billy,’ Zarate (zah-RAH'-te), 41, of Cissna Park, Ill., to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to possess more than five kilograms of cocaine with intent to distribute. Following release from prison, Zarate was ordered to remain on supervised release for 10 years.

Zarate has been detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest on Oct. 9, 2014. Zarate entered a plea of guilty on April 17, 2015, to conspiring with others from 2012 to October 2014 to possess cocaine with intent to distribute.  Zarate admitted that he and others with whom he conspired agreed to have large quantities of cocaine driven in semi-tractor trailers from outside Illinois to pre-arranged locations in Vermilion County, Ill., as well as near Indianapolis, and other locations.

According to court documents, overt acts to further the conspiracy included distribution by Zarate on Dec. 8, 2013, of approximately 11 kilograms of cocaine to an individual in Youngstown, Ohio; on Dec. 12, 2013, travel by Zarate with a co-conspirator to Columbus, Ohio to receive approximately $1.2 million in payment for 36 kilograms of cocaine previously distributed by the conspirators; and, in June 2014, co-conspirators drove a semi-tractor trailer from Texas to Vermilion County, Ill., loaded with approximately 49 kilograms of cocaine, hidden in a load of mangos, to deliver to Zarate and others at a location arranged by Zarate. According to DEA agents, the verified 49 kilogram “bricks” of cocaine hidden in the tractor-trailer were valued at more than $1,000,000 wholesale, with a street value of more than $4,000,000.

According to the factual basis included in the plea agreement, officers with the Bryant, Ark., police department discovered the cocaine in the load of mangos on June 18, 2014, when they stopped to assist after the tractor-trailer broke down on Interstate 30 in Arkansas. The driver and passenger were traveling from Mission, Texas, and planned to deliver the mangos to a location in Chicago. After delivering the mangos, they planned to travel to a gas station in Oakwood, Ill., where they would be directed to a drop-off location to deliver the cocaine to Zarate and others. Zarate paid the owner of the drop-off location to allow the tractor-trailer to be unloaded there. On June 19, 2014, DEA agents attempted to make a controlled delivery of “bricks” of fake cocaine.

The case against Zarate was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller.