Sal Magluta and Willy Falcon, known as Los Muchachos, ran the Florida drug scene from the 1970s to the 1990s, smuggling more than 75 tons of cocaine and amassing more than $2 billion. The new Netflix documentary Cocaine Jeans: The Kings of Miamidetails the rise and fall of Sal and Willy.
It uses interviews with partners, rivals, police officers, lovers and supporters of the couple to detail how the Cuban-born duo ran their drug operation in South Florida. By the time authorities caught up with Falcon and Sal, the couple’s business had spread to New York, DC, and California. Finally, Sal and Willy went to prison in the early 2000s.
Sal Magluta is alive and will likely die at ADX Florence, a maximum security prison in the US.
In 1991, a grand jury indicted Sal Magluta, Willy Falcon, and other key players in the drug business. The drug lords hired the best legal team money could buy, and after a lengthy trial, the jury acquitted Sal and Willy.
The acquittal stumped prosecutors, who had presented tons of incriminating evidence during the trial. A closer look at Willy and Sal’s finances explained their acquittal: the couple had paid off the foreman and several other jurors.
“Later, it turned out that Augusto Falcón and Magluta had bought witnesses and at least one member of the jury, a foreman who served 17 years in prison after accepting $400,000,” according to the Associated Press.
Several prosecution witnesses had also died before they could testify against Willy and Sal. Determined to put the couple behind bars, prosecutors brought bribery, money laundering and murder charges against Falcón and Sal in 2002.
Willy negotiated a plea deal, but Sal decided to try his luck in court. Sal was acquitted of murder but found guilty of bribery and money laundering. The judge sentenced Sal to 205 years in prison, but the sentence was later reduced by ten years.
Sal Magluta is alive in ADX Florence, a maximum security prison often referred to as the ‘Alcatraz of the Rocky Mountains’. The prison houses some of America’s most notorious criminals, including former drug lord El Chapo. Billy Corben, the filmmaker behind Cocaine Cowboys, said news week:
“Sal is in Florence, Colorado, in a maximum security prison. It is the most secure prison in the United States under some of the harshest conditions in the US, with some of the worst terrorists and violent criminals in the country, where he will serve the next 180 years and, you know, most likely than to die.”
A judge denied Magluta’s release request on humanitarian grounds
In August 2021, Magluta’s lawyers filed a petition seeking Sal’s compassionate release. Court records and family accounts described Sal as an elderly man suffering from kidney disease, diabetes, ulcerative colitis, depression, anxiety, and stress. post traumatic
Consequently, Sal sought compassionate release from house arrest with his elderly mother, son, and grandchildren in Westchester, a Miami-Dade suburb. Magluta’s lawyers claimed that the inhuman conditions to which Sal had been subjected more than made up for his crimes.
“As a result of the conditions in which he has been incarcerated, namely indefinite solitary confinement in the most brutal prison facility in the nation, he has become[ed] physically ill and mentally ill. Further imprisonment would be excessive and inhumane.”
The petition described Sal as a repentant man who poses no danger to society. He reiterated that Magluta’s long imprisonment has caused “wrought damage to his body and mind.”
According to the petition, Magluta has spent more than two decades in solitary confinement, spending most of the day in “a small cement cell about half the size of a parking space.” He cited Sal’s exemplary disciplinary record as evidence that Sal has reformed.
Sal’s lawyers claimed that his minor violations point to his deteriorating mental health. They added that ADX Florence custodians had reported that Magluta “suffered from serious mental illness.” The petition further said that Sal was on suicide watch after eating a bag of pills.
The petition contained a four-page letter from Sal asking the court to grant the release. “I would ask the court to find some way that I can, under the terms of the court’s parameters, be used in any [fashion] to share my experience and the consequences of living outside of God’s will and law,” wrote Ps.
US District Court Senior Judge Patricia A. Seitz denied Sal’s petition. She said Sal’s health claims were unsubstantiated and asserted that he continued to be a danger to society.
Judge Seitz downplayed Sal’s alleged suicidal inclinations, seeing them as cries for attention: “it was the only way he could get someone to listen to him.” The judge described Sal’s symptoms as exaggerated, calling them “a means to help facilitate such a transfer.”
He also opposed Sal’s proposed living conditions, as they would place him among the family members who “assisted him in previous illegal activities.”
Willy Falcon’s whereabouts remain unclear after his 2017 release from prison
Netflix
Willy Falcón pleaded guilty to money laundering and received a 20-year sentence. He served his sentence and was released in 2017.
Falcón never acquired US citizenship, so he faced deportation to Cuba. However, his lawyers argued that he would be in danger in Cuba because of his support for anti-Castro organizations. Therefore, he was deported to the Dominican Republic, where he spent a short time. Billy Corben explained:
“They deported him to the Dominican Republic, where when it became known that he was there, the people in the DR got upset about it. And they asked him to leave.
Corben has an idea where Falcon is, but isn’t sure. “Willy is away from home,” Corben said. “I think I know where he is, but I can’t confirm so I won’t say, but he was released several years ago.”
Willy and Sal’s convictions proved unpopular in South Florida because they were perceived as heroes by the community. “They were celebrities but accessible,” Corben explained. “They were Robin Hoods.”
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn