Latest news with #Celedon
Miami Herald
01-04-2025
- Miami Herald
Border agent helped cartel smuggle drugs, migrants into US, feds say. He's sentenced
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent was caught working with a cartel to smuggle drugs and unauthorized people across the U.S. Mexico Border through a Texas port, federal officials said. Emanuel Isac Celedon, 37, was sentenced to 117 months, or 9.7 years in federal prison, prosecutors in the Southern District of Texas said in a March 28 news release. He was also ordered to pay $17,980. He pleaded guilty to four counts of bringing an undocumented alien to the United States for financial gain, bribery and attempted importation of cocaine in two separate cases, federal officials said. In a statement to McClatchy News, Celedon's attorney Juan Guerra said, 'Mr. Celedon is a good man that made a terrible mistake. He has acknowledged that mistake by pleading guilty and accepting responsibility for his actions. However, he will not be defined by his mistake but rather learn, grow, and become a better man from it.' The border official was working at a port in Laredo in 2023 when he sought contacts with a Mexican organization known as the Cartel del Noreste, prosecutors said. In exchange for money, he helped the criminal organization smuggle drugs and unauthorized migrants across the border, officials said. To carry out the smuggling, Celedon would tell Homero Romero-Hernandez, a 32-year-old Mexican national, his daily lane assignment at the Lincoln Juarez Port of Entry, officials said. Romero-Hernandez then gave that information to Jose Osvaldo Zapata-Vasquez, 25, who was also a Mexican national and had ties to the cartel, prosecutors said. Finally, 22-year-old Beatris Guadalupe Martinez, a Texas resident, would drive the contraband or unauthorized people through Celedon's lane to cross into the United States, prosecutors said. Between September and November 2023, Celedon allowed Martinez's vehicle across the border nine times without inspecting the passengers, prosecutors said. He also falsely entered information so Martinez could avoid a second, mandatory inspection, according to federal officials. Celedon's scheme was exposed through an undercover operation, federal officials said. The operation made Celedon believe he was allowing several kilograms of cocaine to cross the border into Texas in exchange for $6,000. Celedon had $1,980 on him at the time of his arrest, according to prosecutors. He, in addition to three co-defendants, were indicted in December 2023, according to court documents. Zapata-Vasquez, Romero-Hernandez and Martinez were previously sentenced to 46, 36 and 42 months in prison, respectively, officials said. Over 27,000 pounds of cocaine were seized at the U.S.-Mexico border in the 2023 fiscal year, according to Customs and Border Protection data. Just over 6,100 pounds of cocaine was seized in the first two months of 2025, according to the most recent data. Celedon is currently in custody and is awaiting transfer to a federal prison. Laredo is about a 160-mile drive southwest from San Antonio.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exchange Bank Announces Ivette Celedon, Vice President, Branch Manager
SANTA ROSA, Calif., March 26, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Exchange Bank is pleased to announce Ivette Celedon as vice president and branch manager supporting the Petaluma office at 453 North McDowell Blvd., Petaluma, CA. Celedon is a Petaluma native with over 18 years of experience in business and consumer banking, building customer relationships, and community service. She began her career as a teller and steadily advanced through various leadership roles. Most recently, she served as Branch Manager at our St. Francis office, where she showcased her dedication to both customers and colleagues. Beyond her professional achievements, Celedon is deeply rooted in the Petaluma community. A 2024 graduate of the Leadership Petaluma, a program of the Petaluma Area Chamber of Commerce, she enjoys spending time with her family, often found cheering on her children at soccer games across Northern California. She actively volunteers with non-profit organizations, including Redwood Empire Food Bank, 10,000 Degrees, and Casa Grande High School Project Grad. Additionally, she runs private indoor soccer teams, engaging over 100 young athletes in the Santa Rosa and Petaluma communities. She also serves on the board of North Coast Futbol Club, further solidifying her dedication to local youth and sports development. Celedon's passion for both banking and community service makes her a natural fit for the role of branch manager. About Exchange Bank Headquartered in Sonoma County and founded in 1890, Exchange Bank is a full-service community bank with assets of $3.30 billion. Exchange Bank provides a wide range of personal, commercial, and trust and investment management services with 17 retail branches in Sonoma County, a retail branch in Roseville and Trust & Investment Management offices in Santa Rosa, Roseville, Marin County and Silicon Valley. The Bank's legacy of financial leadership and community support is grounded in its core values of commitment, respect, integrity, and teamwork. Exchange Bank is known for its people who care about their customers, their company, and the communities where they live and work. Exchange Bank is a 19-year winner of the North Bay Business Journal's Best Places to Work survey and a 13-time winner of the Best Bank of Sonoma County by the Press Democrat's Readers' Choice 2024 awards. Exchange Bank was named Best Consumer Bank by the NorthBay biz Magazine's Best of the North Bay readers' poll and Best Local Bank by The Petaluma Argus Courier People's Choice Awards 2024. Exchange Bank is also a winner of the 2024 San Francisco Business Times Corporate Philanthropy award, and the Bohemian Magazine's Best of the North Bay 2024 named Exchange Bank Best Business Bank and Best Consumer Bank. Member FDIC — Equal Housing Lender — Equal Opportunity Employer View source version on Contacts Suzanne Knowlton, VP/Director of Marketing & Community RelationsExchange BankPO Box 403Santa Rosa, CA Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
From Fresno advocate to political aspirant, Sandra Celedon takes aim at Assembly race
When a local politician announces a run for public office or files the necessary paperwork, my typical reaction is a shrug. Running for office is what politicians do. Some are so eager they don't even wait for an election to pass before launching campaigns and nabbing endorsements for the next one. Yes, Fresno City Councilmember Nelson Esparza, that's directed at you. But when an outspoken community organizer who has successfully advocated for Fresno's least-fortunate residents and its most-neglected neighborhoods enters the political space, my interest gets piqued. Opinion This explains how I found myself seated across a restaurant table from Sandra Celedon for her first interview as a candidate for state Assembly in District 31, which covers much of Fresno and a swath of the county. Joaquin Arambula, the seat's current occupant, plans to run for Fresno City Council in 2026 – potentially as a prelude to a mayoral run in 2028. 'With Joaquin Arambula terming out, I don't see a champion for the people of this district. I don't see someone who's willing to fight for them,' Celedon said during our hour-long conversation. 'Over the last two decades I don't think there's anyone who has fought as hard as I have for the people of this community, to be honest … 'Everything I've done at the local level, that's what I want to be able to bring to Sacramento on behalf of the people of Fresno and this Valley. That's why I'm running.' As president and CEO of Fresno Building Healthy Communities, Celedon is one of the most visible faces and effective leaders of the region's burgeoning social and environmental justice movement. In 2018 her organization's youth interns did much of the legwork and collected signatures for Measure P, Fresno's parks tax, which received 52% approval despite heavy opposition from the mayor, police chief, business groups and influential developers. Advocates again demonstrated their ballot box might in 2022 when Celedon and fellow nonprofit Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability co-spearheaded the No on Measure C campaign that blocked a 30-year extension of the county's transportation tax sought by civic leaders. Besides subverting the powers-that-be, Celedon has been instrumental in several advocacy efforts that resulted in significant local investments. Foremost among these is the Transformative Climate Communities program that brought in $70 million in state cap-and-trade funds, including nearly $17 million toward construction of the Fresno City College campus in southwest Fresno. 'We were advocating for Fresno to be first to get that money,' she said. 'It didn't just happen.' Celedon's group has also been involved in multiple lawsuits against businesses and government agencies, including one currently pending in federal court that charges Community Health System of misusing Medi-Cal funds for its Clovis hospital expansion. It's early yet, but the only other candidate to file paperwork with the California Secretary of State for the AD 31 race is Annalisa Perea. The Fresno city council member has not made a formal announcement. Celedon certainly appears to be Arambula's choice to succeed him in the Fresno region's most Democrat-leaning assembly district. Her fledgling campaign committee received a $5,900 contribution from Arambula's 2024 account – the maximum allowed by state law – as well as $5,900 donations from attorneys Amelia Arambula (Joaquin's mother and wife of former Fresno County Supervisor Juan Arambula), Amparo Cid and former state lawmaker Sarah Reyes. 'Dr. Arambula didn't recruit me, and neither did the Arambula family. I want to be clear on that,' Celedon said. 'I'm not part of any political dynasty. I'd like to say the reason they are supporting me is because they've seen me in action.' Celedon grew up and until a few years ago lived in Calwa, an unincorporated community of 2,100 on Fresno's southern outskirts. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants who began life in the U.S. as farm laborers before advancing to higher-paying jobs that allowed them to scrounge up enough money to buy a house. (Her father worked at a warehouse that manufactured shingles; her mother cleaned hotel rooms.) Looking back, Celedon credits the stability provided by her parents as the reason she was able to attend Fresno State and set herself up for success. She believes those opportunities have since diminished due to the rising costs of housing, food, gas and electricity combined with the dearth of living-wage jobs. 'I am a working-class person from this district,' Celedon said. 'I understand what it means to have to make a hard decision over which bill to pay this month. I understand what it's like to take care of an elderly parent or handle childcare. 'It's not anecdotal. I've lived the challenges people are experiencing.' Opinionated and outspoken, Celedon drew scrutiny from certain local news outlets and criticism from conservatives for tweeting 'Burn it down. #BlackLivesMatter. No justice, no peace. Enough is enough' in regard to a Minneapolis police precinct that was torched by rioters following the 2020 death of George Floyd. Asked about the post, Celedon called it 'a visceral response to what was happening in this country at that time.' Her X account has since been deleted. 'Don't judge me on a tweet – judge me on my actions,' she said. 'I didn't go out and be destructive. I woke up the next day and went to work. That's when I joined the advocacy efforts that led to the Black Lives Matter march that ultimately led to the Fresno Commission on Police Reform.' Five years later, one of Fresno's most effective community advocates is running for state Assembly. Doubt her at your own peril.
