A Tucson man has been sentenced to five years in prison following his third arrest for smuggling migrants, federal officials say.
US District Judge John C. Hinderaker sentenced Clifford Valisto, 63, to five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release, US Attorney's Office in Arizona said Thursday in a news release.
Valisto pleaded guilty in October to transportation of migrants for profit. Valisto also received a concurrent 12-month sentence for violating conditions of his federal supervised release related to a previous smuggling conviction. The news release noted similar convictions in 2011 and 2018.
In the most recent incident, Valisto was apprehended in July while transporting six migrants, including a 15-year-old, in a Ford pickup truck, the release said.
