The leader of the far right group the ‘Proud boys’, Enrique Tarrio was an informant for law enforcement after he was arrested in 2012, according to a transcript of a 2014 court proceeding obtained by Reuters.
According to the news outlet, a prosecutor, a FBI agent and Tarrio’s then-attorney all vouched for his undercover work in 2014.
During the hearing, the prosecutor and Tarrio’s defense attorney asked the judge to reduce the prison sentence of Tarrio and two co-defendants who had pleaded guilty in a fraud case related to the relabeling and sale of stolen diabetes test kits.
Prosecutor Vanessa Singh Johannes argued that Tarrio’s information had led to the prosecution of 13 people on federal charges in two separate cases, and had helped local authorities investigate a gambling ring.
Tarrio’s lawyer at the time, Jeffrey Feiler said his client worked undercover on several investigations, one including the sale of anabolic steroids, another regarding “wholesale prescription narcotics” and a third targeting human smuggling.
Feiler said his client was a “prolific”cooperator in helping the police uncover three marijuana grow houses.
A FBI agent at the hearing also vouched for Tarrio’s work, saying he was a “key component” in local police investigations regarding marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy.
Despite this, Tarrio is denying ever working with law enforcement, telling Reuters: “I don’t know any of this. I don’t recall any of this.”
He acknowledged that his fraud sentence was reduced, from 30 months to 16 months, but insisted that was because he and his co-conspirators helped investigators to clear up questions about their case and not because they agreed to work as informants.
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Johannes disputed that claim in a statement to Reuters. She said Tarrio “cooperated with local and federal law enforcement, to aid in the prosecution of those running other, separate criminal enterprises, ranging from running marijuana grow houses in Miami to operating pharmaceutical fraud schemes.”
