Ex-Evanston Cop Charged With Drug, Gun Conspiracy To Remain Held

CHICAGO — A federal judge Thursday ordered a former Evanston police officer accused of joining the Drug Enforcement Administration on behalf of a murderous drug cartel must remain in federal custody until a bail hearing next month.

Fernando Gomez, 41, served nearly eight years with the Evanston Police Department, starting in April 2004, before joining the DEA in October 2011. Federal prosecutors said spent more than a decade working with a Puerto Rico-based narcotics trafficking organization linked to numerous murders called "La Organizacion de Narcotraficantes Unidos" or "La ONU." Gomez was arrested Dec. 11 in Chicago on drug and gun conspiracy charges.

"When Gomez swore to uphold our nation's drug laws, he never had any intention of doing that," prosecutors said. "From the beginning, he was a double agent."

Prosecutors allege Gomez and La ONU founder Jose "Tony Zinc" Martinez-Diaz, a major international drug trafficker, discussed whether the Evanston cop should join the DEA to help the gang avoid prosecution.

"They agreed that if Gomez did so, they would be 'unstoppable,'" prosecutors said.

With Gomez's help, Martinez-Diaz went undetected by the DEA and avoided prosecution for years, running a "ruthless, violent drug organization" until he was arrested in early 2018 by FBI agents, according to prosecutors. He moved large quantities of cocaine from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico, while other members of the gang took it to New York to sell.

Eight other members of La UNO are charged as part of the conspiracy. The first charges in the case were filed in 2016. An indictment charging Gomez was unsealed by prosecutors in New York the day of his arrest.

Before becoming an Evanston police office, Gomez served in the United States Marine Corps from 1996 to 2003, according to his defense attorneys. They asked that Gomez be allowed to travel to New York to face the charges on his own recognizance, arguing he was not charged with "any of the murders and violence" as other members of the narcotics conspiracy described in the indictment.

But prosecutors argued that because Gomez lied to get into the DEA and used his badge to help the gang evade the law, there was no reason to believe he would abide by the terms of any potential bail. Given his relationship to wealthy drug traffickers with international connections and his law enforcement training, they argued Gomez had plenty of resources to flee and a strong incentive to do so, given that he would spend a minimum of 20 years in federal prison if convicted on one of the two counts he faces.

Members of the gang have killed suspected informants, and there are "serious, credible threats" to the lives of potential witnesses in the case, and prosecutors also argued said there would be a serious danger to the community if Gomez were to be released ahead of trial.

"The danger posed by the defendant is heightened by the fact that not every member or associate of La ONU was arrested in this case, and certain of [Gomez's] criminal associates may remain at-large in the community and [be] willing to commit crimes with or on behalf of [Gomez] if he is bailed," according to a request to deny bail filed by Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Estes.

District Judge Jesse Furman agreed with prosecutors that Gomez should not be responsible for getting himself to federal court in Manhattan and ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to him Gomez to New York ahead of a Jan. 7 bail hearing to review his pre-trial detention.

Gomez began crying uncontrollably after Magistrate Judge Susan Cox agreed to allow him to be transferred to a New York detention facility, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. He placed his hand over his heart as he wept.

While working as a detective in Evanston, prosecutors said he "obtained firearms from drug dealers" and took them to Puerto Rico to give to Martinez-Diaz. He also moved large sums of cash to the island on behalf of the organization, they said. But it was not clear whether Gomez acted in his official capacity to get the guns from drug dealers.

The Evanston Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards has initiated an internal review to see if the department missed any "red flags," Chief Richard Eddington told the Sun-Times. He said Gomez was a sociable officer on the force and there was no indication that he misbehaved.

Police also said the office is continuing to coordinate requests for information from federal authorities as a follow-up to the indictment. Lawyers for the city have denied multiple public records requests seeking employment records from Gomez's time in Evanston, suggesting it could interfere with potential law enforcement activities.

Gomez faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison if convicted. He and Martinez-Diaz will be tried together starting Sept. 9, 2019.

Earlier: Evanston Cop Joined DEA To Help Drug Dealing Conspiracy: Feds