Dominican pleads guilty; caught sneaking into U.S. through Akwesasne

The port of entry at Hogansburg, N.Y. (Newswatch Group/Bill Kingston, File)

AKWESASNE – A man, once-deported from the United States, has pleaded guilty to trying to sneak back into the country through Akwesasne.

Rafael Zapata, 67, of the Dominican Republic recently pled guilty (Oct. 2) and could face up to 20 years in prison as well as a quarter million dollars in fines, according to North Country Now.

The man had been deported in 2008 after a drug trafficking conviction in southern New York State but tried get back into America in late July.

St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police caught him crossing the border near Hogansburg, the paper said, and he was arrested and turned over to border agents.

Zapata’s sentencing will happen in February.

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