New Hartford man pleads guilty to illegal re-entry into U.S.

Sentencing scheduled for July

SYRACUSE, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) — A New Hartford man was in federal court on Wednesday, March 6, to plead guilty to illegally reentering the United States.

60-year-old Altagracios De La Cruz-Calderon, citizen of the Dominican Republic, pled guilty to illegally reentering the U.S. after being convicted of an aggravated felony.

As part of his guilty plea, De La Cruz-Calderon admitted that he had been convicted of federal drug and gun charges in the 1990s. After spending several years in federal prison, De La Cruz-Calderon was deported to the Dominican Republic. He also admitted that after he was deported, he returned to the U.S. illegally. He was later found in New Hartford and subsequently arrested.

De La Cruz-Calderon is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday, July 10, before Chief United States District Judge Brenda Sannes. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and a term of supervised release to three years.

The United States Department of Homeland Security was assisted in the case by the United States Marshals and the New Hartford Police Department.