The leader of the Proud Boys, an extreme right-wing extremist group involved in the Capitol rebellion, was disguised to assist the Miami police and cooperated with the FBI in several investigations of illegal drugs and gambling, a court transcript shows.
Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 36, started working with the FBI after being arrested in 2013 on federal fraud charges related to a scheme to sell stolen diabetes test strips well below market value, according to the revised transcript by NBC News.
“From the first day, he was the one who wanted to speak to the authorities, clear his name, resolve this so he could move on with his life,” a prosecutor told the judge at a court hearing after pleading guilty.
In defending the reduction of the sentence for Tarrio, the prosecutor said he helped the federal police prosecute 13 others on two separate charges.
“He did cooperate significantly,” said the prosecutor at the 2014 hearing.
The judge eventually agreed to reduce Tarrio’s sentence from 30 to 16 months in prison, court documents show.
Messages left in the numbers listed for Tarrio, who was arrested in Washington, DC just two days before the Capitol invasion, were not returned. But in an interview with Reuters, which was the first to report its previous role as a law enforcement officer, Tarrio denied working with the police.
“I don’t know any of that,” he said, when asked about the transcript. “I don’t remember any of that.”
Tarrio was charged on January 4 with possession of two high-capacity gun carriers and destruction of a Black Lives Matter plaque in a historic church in the country’s capital.
Several senior officers say the FBI has warned the police of Tarrio’s presence in Washington.
At least five members of the Proud Boys were accused of participating in the January 6 riot.
Tarrio’s role as a police co-worker predates the rise of the Proud Boys, formed in 2016. He became the group’s national president, who calls himself “western chauvinists” in 2018.
There is no indication in the public archives or transcripts that the police were aware of any involvement by Tarrio in extremist groups. There is also no indication that he recently cooperated with local or federal authorities.
Tarrio’s role was not limited to helping the feds, according to the transcript of the so-called Rule 35 hearing, which was held to allow the government to advocate for reduced sentences due to his assistance in other investigations.
FBI special agent Rod Novales told the judge he was aware of Tarrio’s work with a Miami DP detective in an illegal gambling operation.
“I actually went through surveillance with Henry Tarrio, where he showed me the two locations that were involved in illegal gambling,” Novales told the court.
Tarrio’s then lawyer, Jeffrey Feiler, said in court that his client had worked undercover in several investigations involving human smuggling, the sale of anabolic steroids and prescription drugs.
Feiler said Tarrio was a “prolific” co-worker who took a chance on the smuggling case and “negotiated to pay $ 11,000 to members of that gang to bring in fictitious family members from another country.”
But the FBI said nothing came of the smuggling investigation.
Tarrio also worked with Miami police and the Hialeah Police Department to dismantle a marijuana ring, said his then lawyer in court. Tarrio’s cooperation has led to several arrests and attacks on marijuana growing houses that have generated 100 pounds of marijuana, Feiler said.
The prosecutor in the 2012 fraud case acknowledged that he cooperated in the farm houses case, but she said they never heard back from the police about the progress of the case, so he did not receive credit for it in his effort to reduce his sentence. .
Contacted on Wednesday, Feiler said he does not remember many details of the case. But he added: “What was represented to the judge was true, as far as I know and the information that was provided to me”.
