HOUSTON (AP) — The last of 14 people indicted in the nation's deadliest human smuggling attempt pleaded guilty Monday, federal prosecutors said.
Octavio Torres-Ortega, 42, was accused of leading one of the subordinate rings involved in the smuggling attempt that led to the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants packed in a sweltering tractor-trailer five years ago.
He pleaded guilty to conspiring to harbor and transport aliens illegally in the United States resulting in death and serious bodily injury, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.