Sinaloa Cartel aide, charged with 'El Chapo' 21 years ago, pleads guilty

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Antonio "The Engineer" Reynoso-Gonzalez, a member of the Sinaloa Cartel who was charged in 1995 along with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges.

Reynoso-Gonzalez was charged with Guzman and 22 others with conspiracy to import and to possess cocaine with intent to distribute by the Southern District of California more than two decades ago.

The 72-year-old was extradited from Mexico to the United States in September 2015 along with 12 others who face charges over violent crimes and drug trafficking. Reynoso-Gonzalez faces a minimum sentence of 10 years but prosecutors will recommend a sentence of about eight years on account of his age, health and guilty plea.

Guzman used a Los Angeles food importation business Reynoso-Gonzalez's family owned to add legitimacy to his Sinaloa Cartel. Reynoso-Gonzalez admitted to paying a man to lease a warehouse in Mexico that would bear his family company's name, all the while knowing it would be used to store cocaine that would be sold in the United States, his plea agreement revealed Wednesday shows.

Reynoso-Gonzalez also admitted to arranging a 860-pound cocaine shipment from Los Angeles to Chicago.