Jury selection is set to resume for two former Border Patrol agents accused of smuggling hundreds of people into the United States illegally.
The trial of Raul and Fidel Villarreal (VEE-uh-ray-AL) continues Friday in San Diego federal court. The brothers have pleaded not guilty to human smuggling, witness tampering and bribery.
Raul Villarreal was long a public face of the Border Patrol, frequently appearing on television news as an agency spokesman. He even acted as a human smuggler in a public service announcement intended to warn Mexicans about the dangers of entering the United States illegally.
The case is one of the highest-profile corruption cases to sting the Border Patrol since it went on a hiring spree during the last decade.
