Owner of Rivera plane being investigated by DEA

BRIAN SKOLOFF Associated Press Published:

PHOENIX (AP) -- The company and the man who runs the business that owns a luxury jet that crashed and killed Latin music star Jenni Rivera is under investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the agency seized two of its planes earlier this year as part of the ongoing probe.


Christian Esquino, 50, who runs the business and has a long and checkered legal past, told The Associated Press on Friday that the DEA has been investigating him for more than 20 years but has yet to prove a single drug-related charge. Esquino said his sister-in-law owns the company but he has the "expertise."



Esquino said in a telephone interview from Mexico City Friday night that the singer was considering buying the aircraft from Starwood for $250,000 and the flight was offered as a test ride. The 78-year-old pilot and five other people were also killed.

The late singer's brother, Pedro Rivera Jr., confirmed Friday that his sister died in the crash.

Esquino is no stranger to tangles with the law, and his business dealings have come under increased media scrutiny since the crash.







Tedone also cooperated with authorities and has since been released from prison. Telephone messages left for both Tedone and Castoro have not been returned.

Esquino eventually pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of concealing money from the IRS. He said he has never had any drug involvement and only pleaded to the charge to avoid a much lengthier sentence in the narcotics case.

Joseph Milchen, Esquino's attorney at the time, said the case eventually revolved around his client "bringing money into the United States without declaring it."


Esquino, too, said he later learned the plane he sold to Castoro for about $220,000 was used to smuggle drugs, but said he had no knowledge of that and was only involved in the aircraft transaction.

"I wasn't any part of that," he told the AP. "I pleaded guilty just to get the DEA off my back."

As for Castoro, who Esquino claims implicated him in the smuggling operation, he said, "He'd throw his own mom under the bus if he could get time off his sentence."



As the years passed, Esquino's troubles only grew.

In February this year, a Gulfstream G-1159A plane the government valued at $500,000 -- Esquino says it's worth $1.5 million -- was seized by the U.S. Marshals Service on behalf of the DEA after landing in Tucson on a flight that originated in Mexico





In September, the DEA seized another Starwood aircraft -- a 1977 Hawker 700 with an insured value of $1 million -- after it landed in McAllen, Texas, from a flight from Mexico.




Want to leave your comments?

Sign in or Register to comment.