Chapter 9 - JUSTICE DELIVERED
The verdicts were read three days later.
Gabriel Varela: Found guilty of racketeering, federal tax evasion, two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, and murder in the second degree for the death of Elena Salgado. Sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at ADX Florence supermax facility.
Victor Cordova: Found guilty of money laundering, corporate fraud, and witness tampering. Sentenced to 35 years in federal prison.
Evelyn Beltran: Found guilty of public corruption, bribery, and misuse of state funds. Sentenced to 22 years in federal prison.
Santiago, Maurice, and Emmett: Sentenced to 8 years each in a juvenile detention facility, with court-mandated restitution payments totaling $15 million transferred directly to a trust fund created for victims of violent crime.
As Gabriel was led out of the courtroom in heavy chains, he looked at me one last time.
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His eyes were hollow, his empire completely dismantled, his name stripped from every building, library, and scholarship fund in the state. He was no longer a ghost-maker. He was just a number in a federal database.
I didn't say a word to him. I simply put my arm around Renata’s shoulders and walked out of the courthouse into the bright afternoon sunlight.
