Omar Mera-Marquez, of Medford, convicted of transporting 3 who crossed into U.S. illegally
A jury convicted a Medford man Wednesday of transporting three men who had crossed into the country illegally from Mexico, federal officials said.
Omar Mera-Marquez, 46, faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, followed by three years supervised release, when he is sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mae D ’Agostino on Sept. 17, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York.
Mera-Marquez's attorney, Emma Reynolds, of the Federal Public Defenders Office in Albany, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Oct. 3, 2023, Mera-Marquez and a co-defendant, Jose Calva-Cruz, agreed to drive from Long Island to Fort Covington — near the U.S.-Canadian border — to pick up three men from Mexico who had recently crossed into the country illegally, authorities said. In exchange, Mera-Marquez and Calva-Cruz would be paid $1,500, federal officials said.
The following morning at around 3 a.m., Mera-Marquez and Calva-Cruz arrived at the pickup location, a motel parking lot one mile from the border, authorities said. The three men then jumped into a dark colored SUV with Kansas license plates driven by Mera-Marquez, prosecutors said.
An agent from U.S. Border Patrol, who was watching the parking lot, observed the pickup and pulled over the vehicle, arresting all five men.
Mera-Marquez was convicted in an Albany court of the charge of "transporting illegal aliens for financial gain," authorities said.
Calva-Cruz previously pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme and was subsequently deported, officials said.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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