SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) 鈥� Jos茅 Irizarry accepts that he鈥檚 known as the most corrupt agent in U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration history, admitting he 鈥渂ecame another man鈥� in conspiring with Colombian cartels to build a lavish lifestyle of expensive sports cars, Tiffany jewels and paramours around the world.
But as he used his final hours of freedom to tell his story to The Associated Press, Irizarry says he won鈥檛 go down for this alone, accusing some long-trusted DEA colleagues of joining him in skimming millions of dollars from drug money laundering stings to fund a decade鈥檚 worth of luxury overseas travel, fine dining, top seats at sporting events and frat house-style debauchery.
The way Irizarry tells it, dozens of other federal agents, prosecutors, informants and in some cases cartel smugglers themselves were all in on the three-continent joyride known as 鈥淭eam America鈥� that chose cities for money laundering pick-ups mostly for party purposes or to coincide with Real Madrid soccer or Rafael Nadal tennis matches. That included stops along the way in VIP rooms of Caribbean strip joints, Amsterdam鈥檚 red-light district and aboard a Colombian yacht that launched with plenty of booze and more than a dozen prostitutes.
鈥淲e had free access to do whatever we wanted,鈥� the 48-year-old Irizarry told the AP in a series of interviews before beginning a 12-year federal prison sentence. 鈥淲e would generate money pick-ups in places we wanted to go. And once we got there it was about drinking and girls.鈥�
All this revelry was rooted, Irizarry said, in a crushing realization among DEA agents around the world that there鈥檚 nothing they can do to make a dent in the drug war anyway. Only nominal concern was given to actually building cases or stemming a record flow of illegal cocaine and opioids into the United States that has driven more than 100,000 drug overdose deaths a year.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 win an unwinnable war,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he drug war is a game. ... It was a very fun game that we were playing.鈥�
Irizarry鈥檚 story, which some former colleagues have attacked as a fictionalized attempt to reduce his sentence, came in days of contrite, bitter, sometimes tearful interviews with the AP in the historic quarter of his native San Juan. It was much the same account he gave the FBI in lengthy debriefings and sealed court papers obtained by the AP after he pleaded guilty in 2020 to 19 corruption counts.
But after years of portraying Irizarry as a rogue agent who acted alone, U.S. Justice Department investigators have in recent months begun closely following his confessional roadmap, questioning as many as two-dozen current and former DEA agents and prosecutors accused of turning a blind eye to his flagrant abuses and sometimes joining in.
The once-standout agent has accused some former colleagues in the DEA鈥檚 Miami-based Group 4 of lining their pockets and falsifying records to replenish a slush fund used for foreign jaunts over the better part of a decade, until his resignation in 2018.
鈥淭he indictment paints a picture of me, the corrupt agent that did this entire scheme. But it doesn鈥檛 talk about the rest of DEA. I wasn鈥檛 the mastermind,鈥� Irizarry said.
The Justice Department declined to comment. A DEA spokesperson said: 鈥淛os茅 Irizarry is a criminal who violated his oath as a federal law enforcement officer and violated the trust of the American people.鈥�
AP was able to corroborate some, but not all, of Irizarry鈥檚 accusations through thousands of confidential law enforcement records and dozens of interviews with those familiar with his claims and the ongoing criminal investigation.
The probe is focused in part on George Zoumberos, one of Irizarry鈥檚 former partners who traveled overseas extensively for money laundering investigations. Irizarry told AP that Zoumberos enjoyed unfettered access to so-called commission funds and improperly tapped that money for personal purchases and unwarranted trips.
Authorities are so focused on Zoumberos that they also subpoenaed his brother, a Florida wedding photographer who traveled with DEA agents, and even granted him immunity to induce his cooperation. But Michael Zoumberos also refused to testify and has been jailed outside Tampa since March for 鈥渃ivil contempt鈥� 鈥� an exceedingly rare pressure tactic that underscores the rising temperature of the investigation.
Some current and former DEA agents say Irizarry鈥檚 claims are overblown or flat-out fabrications. The lawyer for the Zoumberos brothers says prosecutors are on a 鈥渇ishing expedition鈥� to bring more indictments because of the embarrassment of the Irizarry scandal.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e looking to find a crime to fit this case as opposed to a crime that actually took place,鈥� said attorney Raymond Mansolillo.
Irizarry parlayed his knowledge of the black-market peso exchange into a life of luxury that prosecutors say was bankrolled by $9 million he and his Colombian co-conspirators diverted from money laundering investigations.
Irizarry鈥檚 spending habits quickly began to mimic the ostentatious tastes of the narcos he was tasked with targeting, with spoils including a $30,000 Tiffany diamond ring for his wife, luxury sports cars and a $767,000 home in the Colombian resort city of Cartagena.
鈥淚 got caught up in the lifestyle,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 got caught up with the informants and partying.鈥�
Since his arrest, Irizarry has written a self-published book titled 鈥淕etting Back on Track,鈥� part of his attempt to own up to his mistakes, and his wife has told him she is seeking a divorce.
Adding to Irizarry鈥檚 despair is that he is still the only one to pay such a heavy price for a pattern of misconduct that he says the DEA allowed to fester. To date, prosecutors have yet to charge any other agents, and several former colleagues have quietly retired rather than endure the disgrace of possibly being fired.
鈥淚鈥檝e told them everything I know,鈥� Irizarry said. 鈥淎ll they have to do is dig.鈥�
Jim Mustian And Joshua Goodman, The Associated Press
