U.S. District Magistrate Judge Ronald Morgan ordered ex-Tamaulipas Governor Tomas Yarrington held without bond.
U.S. District Magistrate Judge Ronald Morgan ordered ex-Tamaulipas Governor Tomas Yarrington held without bond.
Federal authorities extradited Yarrington, 61, to the U.S. from Italy last Friday.
On Monday morning, at around 11 a.m., a helicopter buzzed over the federal court house as a caravan of law enforcement vehicles rushed Yarrington to the courthouse for his afternoon hearing. Armed officers could be seen guarding the courthouse in the vicinity where Yarrington was dropped off.
The former Tamaulipas governor, who wore the same clothes he was seen wearing leaving a helicopter under armed guard at the Brownsville South Padre Island Airport, did not say much during the hearing accept “Yes, sir,” responding to Morgan who explained the charges contained in the 2013 indictment against him.
Yarrington also told Morgan he did not have the money to hire an attorney so Morgan appointed one for him and told the former governor that if he did hire his own attorney in the future, he would need to pay back the court-appointed attorney.
The former governor is facing a litany of charges relating to racketeering, drug trafficking, bank fraud and tax evasion.
Last April, authorities in Italy arrested Yarrington.
Yarrington was Matamoros’ mayor from 1993 to 1995 and from 1999 to 2004 he was governor of Tamaulipas. He has been a fugitive since 2012, after the Mexican Attorney General’s Office began investigating alleged the man had ties with the Gulf Cartel and Zetas.
He is accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for allowing the cartels to operate in Tamaulipas, facilitating the trafficking of “large quantities of cocaine and marijuana,” according to the indictment. Yarrington is also accused of stealing public funds, which he transferred to banks in Hidalgo County to acquire properties, along with applying for fraudulent loans.
Morgan scheduled an April 26 arraignment and detention hearing for 1:30 p.m. for Yarrington.
