Bail Deadline Set in Zuno Arce Case

Federal prosecutors have until noon today to persuade an appeals court that Ruben Zuno Arce, who is charged with perjury in a case related to the 1985 murder of a U.S. drug agent, should not be released on bail.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Robert M. Takasugi set bail at $200,000 for Zuno Arce, 59, a prominent Mexican businessman and the brother-in-law of Mexico’s former president.

But at the request of Assistant U.S. Atty. Manuel Medrano, who called Zuno Arce a “profound flight risk,” the judge delayed implementation of his order until noon.

Prosecutors have until then to try to persuade the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the bail ruling.

If not, Zuno Arce could go free.

Takasugi set Zuno Arce’s bail at $200,000 plus two parcels of land owned by a friend and a cousin. The judge noted that Zuno Arce has complied with requests to be interviewed and said he was not a danger. But as a condition of bail, Zuno Arce must sign away his right to protest his extradition from Mexico.

Zuno Arce was indicted last week on charges of lying to a grand jury in Los Angeles about his relationship with three Mexican drug lords suspected in the February, 1985, slaying of Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique Camarena.