A Huntington Beach man and his music company were convicted on 11 federal criminal counts for working with a concert promoter in Mexico who has ties to drug cartels.
José Ángel Del Villar, 44, of Huntington Beach and the CEO of Del Records and connected talent agency Del Entertainment Inc., was convicted by a jury on Thursday of 10 counts of violating the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act and an additional count of conspiracy to transact in property of specially designated narcotics traffickers in violation of the Kingpin Act, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.
Del Entertainment was also convicted on the same 11 charges.
The cartel-affiliated figure in question is Jesús Pérez Alvear, aka “Chucho” of Guadalajara, who promoted concerts for Del Entertainment until 2019.
Pérez also “facilitated money laundering for the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) and the Los Cuinis drug trafficking organization,” prompting his designation as a narcotic trafficker in 2018. Under the Kingpin Act, that label makes it illegal for Americans to work with him.
Del Villar knew this, yet his artists continued to perform at Pérez’s events. At one point, Del Records drafted a press release “stating the company had ‘no choice; but to ‘obey U.S. law and not allow the bookings of any of my shows to individuals the Dept. of Treasury has deemed sanctioned,'” the Los Angeles Times reports.
That release, however, was never sent out, and the shows continued.
One “well-known musician” whom FBI agents “explicitly” told about Pérez’s narcotic trafficker status performed in Mexico in 2018 and traveled to the show via a private jet paid for by Del Villar’s credit card, officials said.
“The defendants here chose to get into business with an individual they knew had ties to the CJNG and had been designated a narcotics trafficker under the Kingpin Act,” acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally said in the release. “Cartels and transnational criminal organizations cause immeasurable harm to our country. We are using every tool to eliminate these organizations and will prosecute those that do business with cartels.”
Del Villar faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each count. His sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 15.
His co-defendant Luca Scalisi, 58, of West Hollywood, has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to be tried separately in July.
As for Pérez, he already pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge, though he was found murdered in Mexico in December.
