Former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding ceremony pleaded not responsible to drug trafficking and homicide expenses after being in comparison with Pablo Escobar.
Ryan Wedding ceremony walked right into a California courtroom Monday with the boldness of somebody who as soon as competed on the world’s largest stage.
The previous Olympic snowboarder pleaded not responsible to expenses that FBI Director Kash Patel says make him a modern-day Pablo Escobar.
Wedding ceremony’s lawyer, Anthony Colombo, informed reporters that his shopper was “in good spirits and doing nicely” after the arraignment. The 44-year-old Canadian athlete faces a number of drug conspiracy counts and 4 homicide expenses related to what authorities name a billion-dollar cocaine trafficking empire.
FBI officers arrested Wedding ceremony in Mexico Metropolis final week after he spent almost a 12 months on the bureau’s Ten Most Wished record.
The $15 million bounty on his head mirrored the scope of allegations in opposition to the person who represented Canada in snowboarding on the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake Metropolis.
“He went from an Olympic snowboarder to the most important narco-trafficker in fashionable occasions,” Patel stated at a information convention. “He’s a modern-day El Chapo, he’s a modern-day Pablo Escobar, and he thought he may evade justice.”
The timing carries further weight because the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina strategy.
Competitors begins February 4 with curling occasions, simply days earlier than the opening ceremony on February 6.
Prosecutors allege Wedding ceremony constructed his legal enterprise after serving jail time for a 2008 cocaine trafficking conviction. Court docket paperwork declare he partnered with Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel to maneuver 60 metric tons of cocaine by way of Southern California into america and Canada.
The alleged operation generated billions in income whereas leaving a path of violence throughout a number of international locations. Wedding ceremony stands accused of orchestrating murders of witnesses and rivals, together with putting bounties on targets.
One sufferer was a federal witness scheduled to testify in opposition to Wedding ceremony’s group. Authorities say the witness was fatally shot at a restaurant after Wedding ceremony’s associates tracked him down utilizing on-line assets.
The defendant waived his proper to have each indictments learn aloud in courtroom. He entered separate not-guilty pleas to every set of expenses earlier than Decide Patricia Donahue within the Central District of California.
Thriller surrounds precisely how Wedding ceremony ended up in custody. His lawyer contradicted earlier studies by stating that Wedding ceremony didn’t give up voluntarily.
Colombo informed reporters Wedding ceremony was “apprehended by authorities in Mexico Metropolis” fairly than turning himself in as some officers initially advised.
