Path of the Devil: Camino del Diablo

This story was based on true events of three men determined to bring down a notorious drug cartel operating along the southwestern border of the United States. For five years the men spearheaded separate but simultaneous investigations in different locations around the country. According to a March 1997 report by Mike Gallegher, investigative reporter for the Albuquerque Journal, along the border between United States and Mexico, from Tijuana, Mexico/San Diego, California to Matamoros, Mexico/Brownsville, Florida, there are twelve Gatekeepers who form "a syndicate of the major drug cartels operating in Mexico."1 The syndicate controls individual regions for smuggling narcotics and drugs into the U.S. and transportation of weapons to Central and South America. The cartels "coordinate bribes at the national level, oversee money laundering operations and negotiate the shipment of drugs at the international level."2 One case, conducted by DEA Agent Larry Ray Hardin, took place in Yuma and San Luis, both cities in Arizona. Another case occurred simultaneously in Los Angeles, California, and was conducted by private investigators Jeff Pearce and Randy Torgerson of the Pearce Corporation. About one year into the cases, they found themselves making connections with the Meraz organization, a drug cartel in San Luis, Rio Colorado, Mexico, and their connections and businesses conducted in Los Angeles. Experiences from their investigation, surveillance, and collection of intelligence to build the cases present a compelling story leading to what became of the Meraz family, their organization, and the three young men. The intensity of this work - and in some instances, the fun times - relate how events such as these shaped each of their lives.