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Defending 'El Chapo:' Attorney William Purpura on the Trial of a Mexican Drug Kingpin

US Drug Enforcement Administration via AP

Todaya conversation with William Purpura, a Baltimore attorney who was a member of the legal defense team for Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the notorious Mexican drug kingpin also known as "El Chapo."  Guzman was convicted in a Brooklyn courthouse last week on charges related to his illicit drug enterprise. The guilty verdicts, on all 10 counts, came after a three-month trial, and for federal prosecutors, three decades of investigation into the huge drug trafficking enterprise known as the Sinaloa Cartel. It was one of the most high-profile federal drug prosecutions in history. 

Credit Photo by Rob Sivak/WYPR
Baltimore attorney William Purpura, at the Midday microphone.

William Purpura has been involved in other recent high-profile cases, including the defense of Daniel Hersl, one of the Baltimore City police officers convicted in the Gun Trace Task Force scandal, and Michael Vaughan, a former MD Delegate from Prince George’s County, who was sentenced to four years in prison in a bribery case last September.  Mr. Purpura joins Tom in Studio A.  

We live-streamed this conversation, and you can view the video on the WYPR Facebook page.

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Host, Midday (M-F 12:00-1:00)
Rob is a contributing producer for Midday.