Owner of Jenni Rivera Plane Being Investigated by DEA

Dec 14, 2012

The Associated Press is reporting the man widely believed to be behind the aviation company that owned the plane carrying Jenni Rivera was traveling in is an "ex-convict." Christian Esquino, 50, is also currently under investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The Associated Press has more details:

The company that owns a luxury jet that crashed and killed Mexican pop superstar Jenni Rivera is under investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the agency seized two of its planes earlier this year as part of the ongoing probe.

DEA spokeswoman Lisa Webb Johnson confirmed Thursday the planes owned by Las Vegas-based Starwood Management were seized in Texas and Arizona, but she declined to discuss details of the case. The agency also has subpoenaed all the company’s records, including any correspondence it has had with a former Tijuana mayor who U.S. law enforcement officials have long suspected has ties to organized crime.

In a separate story, The L.A. Times yesterday broke the news that Esquino was accused of conspiring with associates in the 1990s and 2000s to falsify records documenting the history of planes they bought and sold — tail numbers, inspection stamps and logbooks. Esquino’s "fraudulent business practices … put the flying public at risk," federal authorities argued in documents obtained by The Times.

It still unclear exactly what caused the crash and why Rivera was on Esquino’s plane. Esquino was not on the plane.

Criticism and suspicion has quickly turned to the 78-year-old pilot that was flying the plane.

In a telephone interview from Mexico City with the LA Times) yesterday, Esquino said that the Learjet 25 was perfectly maintained. Esquino, 50, said he believes the 78-year-old pilot suffered a heart attack or was incapacitated in some way, and that a "green" co-pilot was unable to save the plane.

The Federal Aviation Administration age limit for commercial pilots in the U.S. is 65.