Canadian man pleads guilty to cocaine trafficking

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A Canadian man pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to leading an operation to distribute 30 kilograms of cocaine in North Dakota and other states.

Jerome Catacutan (cat-ah-cue-TAN') is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to deliver a controlled substance, and money laundering. He pleaded guilty on both counts.

Federal authorities say undercover agents posing as large-scale cocaine traffickers met Catacutan at a Bloomington, Minn., bar in October 2009.

A co-conspirator in the case is accused of having nearly $577,000 in Canadian money when arrested in November 2009 in Rogers, Minn.

Defense attorney Allan Caplan of Minneapolis and U.S. Attorney Timothy Purdon of North Dakota declined to comment Monday.

Catacutan faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. Sentencing is scheduled for March 26 in Fargo.

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