Joseph Bargos: Offender pardoned by Barack Obama in 2015 lands in prison again for drug trafficking

CHICAGO: Joseph Bargos, a man granted clemency by former president Barack Obama in 2015, finds himself in legal trouble.

Arrested four years later for attempting to smuggle nearly 2,000 fentanyl-laced oxycodone pills into Chicago, Bargos, 74, has been sentenced to more than five years in prison.

Joseph Bargos's effort for a lawful life amid setbacks

In a sentencing memo, Bargos' attorney, William Hardwicke, detailed how his client attempted to lead a lawful life post-commutation. However, setbacks, including the loss of a job with Uber due to licensing requirements and financial strain, led him back to drug dealing.

Federal agents initiated an investigation into a“network of narcotics traffickers” in November 2017, with Bargos becoming a subject of interest. Agents, suspecting him of carrying drugs, tracked him on a bus from Texas to Chicago in April 2019. Upon confrontation, Bargos falsely claimed to be returning from a wedding in Cincinnati.

Prosecutors cite a second breach of release conditions

A subsequent search revealed 1,883 pills in his possession, as per Law & Crime. “In addition to squandering the opportunity defendant received through the presidential commutation, defendant’s trip to Texas to procure fentanyl was the second time he violated his release conditions by engaging in unauthorized travel,” the federal authorities penned in the sentencing memo.

Prosecutors highlighted Bargos's violation of release conditions, including unauthorized travel to Texas, as well as an unapproved trip to Mexico, leading to his parole violation. He pleaded guilty on September 5 to possessing over 40 grams of fentanyl, carrying a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison.

Prosecutors sought a 74-month sentence, arguing against leniency due to his age and citing his lifelong involvement in drug dealing. “Defendant is a lifelong drug dealer who committed this crime at age 70 after never pursuing a sustained period of lawful employment,” prosecutors stated.

Hardwicke emphasized Bargos's health challenges, including contracting COVID-19 and experiencing cardiac arrest while in jail, urging consideration for his client's well-being during sentencing.

Joseph Bargos' past legal trouble

Joseph Bargos has a lengthy history of drug distribution convictions dating back to 1967, with a federal judge imposing a 30-year sentence in 1993 for cocaine distribution and unlawful use of a communication facility.

Despite this, he was among approximately 1,600 individuals who received a commutation from Obama in 2015, part of an initiative to reduce sentences for inmates who would likely have received lesser sentences in 2014.

Bargos was among four individuals who received clemency but faced challenges post-release. Out of the four, Bargos and two others found themselves back in jail, illustrating the varied outcomes of Obama's commutation program.

Moreover, of the 30 people in the US District of Northern Illinois who received clemency, less than 10 percent reoffended, according to reports.