Convictions Delivered in Federal Case from 2009

A retired Chicago police officer was taken into federal custody today immediately after a jury convicted him and four co-defendants of conspiracy to distribute multiple kilograms of cocaine. This was following a two-month trial in U.S. District Court. Convicted were; his brother Jorge Uriarte, 31, formerly of Oak Forest; retired Chicago Police Officer Glenn Lewellen; Chicago residents Tony Sparkman, 25, and Robert Cardena, 32.

Hector and Jorge Uriarte, along with Lewellen, Sparkman and Cardena, were free on bond, but were immediately taken into federal custody after the jury convicted them today of conspiracy to distribute multiple kilograms of cocaine with certain members and associates of a criminal organization directed by Saul Rodriguez, 36, formerly of Countryside.

Lewellen, 55, formerly of Chicago and Las Vegas and most recently of south suburban Frankfort, and five trial co-defendants were rendered after two weeks of deliberations, following a two-month trial that began in November in Federal Court. 

The case began when Rodriguez and others were arrested in April 2009 after they conspired to steal hundreds of kilograms of purported cocaine from a warehouse in southwest suburban as part of an undercover sting operation. A total of 11 defendants were eventually indicted in the case. 

The jury was deadlocked on the RICO conspiracy count against another Uriarte brother, Manuel Uriarte, 34, formerly of Chicago and Watsonville, Calif. The jury, however, found him not guilty of two counts of murder in aid of racketeering. Manuel Uriarte remains in custody pending further proceedings. A status hearing has been scheduled for him for Feb. 15.       

The officials had no immediate comment on the whether the deadlocked counts would be re-tried.

“We are pleased with the guilty verdicts that were returned today in a very significant case,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. 

Fitzgerald was joined by Jack Riley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Alvin Patton, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. 

The investigation was conducted under the umbrella of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).        

The narcotics distribution conspiracy count against Lewellen, Hector and Jorge Uriarte, Sparkman, and Cardena carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison and a $4 million fine. 

As a result of also being convicted of kidnapping and firearms offenses, Hector and Jorge Uriarte and Sparkman each face mandatory minimum sentences totaling 42 years. 

*The above case background and information on today's conviction was provided in a media announcement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.