ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 26, 1997 TAG: 9702260113
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
1991
The investigation begins with the arrest of Javier Cruz, who was trafficking cocaine for the Cali cartel out of his Roanoke used-car dealership. Cruz was living under an assumed name after fleeing the Charlotte, N.C., area, where he was wanted on a first-degree murder charge for killing a man during an argument in 1987.
The New York City cocaine kingpin Cruz was working for, Leonardo Francisco Rivera-Ruiz, is arrested.
Cruz and Rivera-Ruiz secretly are indicted. The indictments remained sealed until Tuesday.
Operation El Cid begins. Cruz and Rivera become informants, initially setting up drug deals via telephone from the Roanoke County-Salem Jail. The DEA also uses Rivera's contacts to begin laundering drug money - a way to learn about the inner workings of the cartel.
august 1992
Cruz is allowed to plead guilty to a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter in the North Carolina killing and gets a three-year sentence. He spends the following week in a North Carolina prison and is released, credited for his 16 months in the Roanoke County-Salem jail.
October 1992
The DEA sends Cruz to Colombia, where he sets up an import/export business and gets to know the leaders of the world's biggest cocaine businesses.
November 1994
The money-laundering phase of Operation El Cid ends. The DEA says it made 57 pickups over three years in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago and Cleveland and laundered $47 million in drug money.
January 1995
Cruz buys house in Roanoke County with his new wife, whom he met in Colombia.
May 1995
Cruz's second wife opens the Temptations restaurant on Virginia 419 in Roanoke County. Cruz manages the restaurant.
Spring 1996
The investigation winds down. The DEA and the U.S. Attorney's Office say they spent the rest of the year tying up loose ends.
NOVEMBER 8-9,1996
Stories in The Roanoke Times reveal Cruz's role as an informant in Operation El Cid and the 1987 murder charge.
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1997
A federal grand jury in Roanoke indicts 41 people in connection with the Cruz investigation.
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