Published: Mon, 12/18/23
San Antonio Express-News
By Marc Duvoisin, Staff writer
A former Texas state trooper has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for lying to the FBI about his father's drug trafficking operation and the role he played in it by running the license plates of suspicious vehicles through state databases.
Pablo Talavera Jr., 35, of Pharr, pleaded guilty in August to lying about his knowledge of his family’s involvement in drug trafficking. Last week, U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez in McAllen ordered Talavera to serve 18 months, followed by two years of supervised release.
Talavera was a Department of Public Safety trooper who served in Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star border security initiative, myRGV.com reported.
He and his family came under scrutiny in 2019, when state and federal law enforcement began investigating a criminal organization responsible for transporting what federal prosecutors described as "multikilogram quantities" of methamphetamine from the Rio Grande Valley to Tennessee. Talavera’s father, Pablo Sr., was the organization’s leader, according to the Justice Department.
Talavera Jr. initially denied knowing anything about his father's criminal activities. He later admitted this was a lie. According to federal prosecutors, he also admitted that he helped his father by using his DPS position to run license plate checks on vehicles "believed to be those of law enforcement."
“Talavera lied to the FBI during a critical moment — betraying his badge and breaching the public trust,” said Alamdar S. Hamdani, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas. “In doing so, Talavera chose his father’s criminal organization over the people he was sworn to protect."
Carlos A. Garcia of Mission, an attorney representing Talavera Jr., said his client made "a terrible mistake" and had owned up to it, ValleyCentral.com reported.
Talavera Sr. was previously convicted of drug trafficking and is serving a 21-year federal sentence.
Authorities began investigating the Talavera clan after drug smugglers in Reynosa kidnapped Talavera Sr., ValleyCentral.com reported. Talavera Jr. and other family members met to discuss the kidnapping, according to court records.
The FBI arranged for an informant to meet with Talavera Sr. He told the informant that his organization hid meth in oxygen tanks with false bottoms and paid a moving company to deliver them to Tennessee, court records show.
An informant also told the FBI that Talavera Jr. protected drug shipments and provided the organization with sensitive law enforcement information, ValleyCentral.com reported.
After his sentencing, Talavera Jr. was permitted to remain free on bond so he could voluntarily surrender once the U.S. Bureau of Prisons determines where he will serve his time.
Talavera Jr. graduated from what is now the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and joined DPS in June 2015.