Source: US FBI
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A Mexican national illegally residing in Phoenix, Arizona, pleaded guilty in federal court on July 7, 2025, to charges of violating the federal “Kingpin” statute for operating a continuing criminal enterprise as well as money laundering, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
Marcos Monarrez-Mendoza, 55, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan. Monarrez-Mendoza was among 35 individuals charged through a Second Superseding Indictment unsealed in January 2024 for their participation in a domestic and international narcotics and money laundering conspiracy involving substantial quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine (read the Second Superseding Indictment news release here).
In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, at various times from September 2022 to November 2022, Monarrez-Mendoza—a co-leader, along with his son Marcos Monarrez Jr., of the Phoenix-based Monarrez Drug Trafficking Organization—was intercepted over a federal wiretap obtaining hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine, millions of fentanyl pills, and kilograms of cocaine from a Mexican national drug supplier. Monarrez-Mendoza provided the drugs to a network of subordinate drug distributors who redistributed them throughout the country, including into western Pennsylvania. Additionally, Monarrez-Mendoza provided over $100,000 in proceeds from the drug sales to couriers who smuggled the money into Mexico to promote the drug trafficking operation.
Judge Ranjan scheduled sentencing for December 5, 2025. The law provides for a sentence of not less than 20 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $2 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorneys Arnold P. Bernard Jr. and Tonya S. Goodman are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Monarrez-Mendoza.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, combat illegal immigration, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.