Del Records CEO convicted of illegal ties to Mexican concert promoter linked to drug cartel

Angel Del Villar, 44, of Huntington Beach, CEO of Del Records and its subsidiary talent agency Del Entertainment, was found guilty Thursday of conspiring to do business with a Guadalajara-based concert promoter with ties to Mexican drug cartels.

Del Villar was convicted of one count of conspiracy to transact in property of specially designated narcotics traffickers in violation of the Kingpin Act and 10 counts of violating the Kingpin Act, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Co-defendant Del Entertainment also was found guilty of all 11 counts of which Del Villar was convicted.

DEL Records has launched the careers of artists like Gerardo Ortíz, Luis Coronel, Ulices Chaidez y Sus Plebes, and Régulo Caro.

According to evidence presented at a nine-day trial in L.A. federal court, in April 2018, the defendants did business with Jesús Pérez "Chuco" Alvear, of Guadalajara, Mexico, a music promoter who controlled Gallistica Diamante, known as Ticket Premier. Pérez promoted concerts for Del Entertainment in Mexico until March 2019.

The U.S. Treasury Department listed Pérez and his company as "specially designated narcotics traffickers" under the Kingpin Act on April 6, 2018, after concluding he facilitated money laundering for the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación and the Los Cuinis drug trafficking organization. The Kingpin Act prevents people in the United States from conducting business with sanctioned persons and entities.

"The defendants here chose to get into business with an individual they knew had ties to the CJNG and had been designated a narcotics trafficker under the Kingpin Act," Acting United States Attorney Joseph McNally said in a statement. "Cartels and transnational criminal organizations cause immeasurable harm to our country. We are using every tool to eliminate these organizations and will prosecute those that do business with cartels."

U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong scheduled an Aug. 15 sentencing hearing, at which time Del Villar will face up to 30 years in federal prison for each count. Del Entertainment will face a sentence of five years' probation and a fine of $10 million for each count, officials said.

Co-defendant Luca Scalisi, 58, of West Hollywood, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him in this case and is scheduled to be tried separately in July 2025.

Pérez, who previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transact in property of specially designated narcotics traffickers, was murdered in Mexico in December 2024, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.