EL PASO, Texas – A Mexican gang leader has been sentenced to life in prison for his role in the 2010 slayings in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, of a U.S. consulate employee, her husband and the husband of another employee.
Prosecutors said Arturo Gallegos Castrellon was sentenced Thursday. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone ordered him to pay over $1.7 million in restitution and forfeiture.
A federal jury found him guilty in February of three counts of murder. He was also convicted on eight other charges, including conspiracy, drug trafficking and money laundering.
Prosecutors say evidence presented at trial showed he was in charge of a team of assassins with the Barrio Azteca, a gang allied with the Juarez drug cartel, and had ordered the three slayings.
Gallegos Castrellon was arrested in Mexico and extradited to the U.S. on June 28, 2012, to face trial.