My name is Raymond Bustamante and I was born and raised native of southern California. I just turned 61 in May 2023 and for the first 58 years of my life I would consider myself lucky by most standards. I was raised in Orange County, California, and attended grade school and High School in Huntington Beach. I attended the University of Southern California and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Administration. Since 1985 when I left school, I began a career that span 34 years in the hospitality industry working for such illustrious brands as Hilton, Hyatt, Starwood and Marriott. I have solid friendships that span high school and college upwards of 45+ years. I was raised in a very loving home, with two wonderful parents, 2 brothers, a plethora of aunts, uncles, cousins and all the support and love one would expect from a Hispanic cultural influence. I really was most comfortable being single since most of my friends were married, had children and I became known as just “Uncle Ray” and accepted as part of the couple’s families. Uncle Ray was loved, admired, and made a name for himself in business, social, civic and society. Until 2019.
Fall From Grace and my crime
In 2019, I lost my job as a result of cutbacks in the hotel industry and mergers of such companies as Starwood and Marriott. Coupled with the fact of Covid arriving in 2020, it was the perfect storm for a person to get derailed very quickly and make a series of mistakes and poor judgement. In 2019 and 2020 I started mailing a controlled substance to people I had met on social apps and websites. It was NOT a money-making proposition. In fact, there was very little monetary gain from this endeavor. It was a way to belong to a group that didn’t require too much effort other than befriending people on social Apps and moved on to many meetings in Zoom rooms. This was the beginning of the end to my “normal” life as I knew it and had enjoyed for 58 years. I look back at this mistake and really drill down to the fact – I had too much time on my hands and got in trouble I did.
In July of 2020 the United States Postal Service raided my home and had been watching me for almost a year. I was neither arrested nor charged with a crime. This case went on for 3 years, involved 2 states and ended in July of 2023. I was charged and convicted of a “Conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance using the USPS which resulted in death or serious bodily injury of another person. In this case, an accidental overdose occurred. I was sentenced to 144 months in a minimum-security prison, headed to La Tuna Correctional Facility outside of El Paso, TX on Sept 7, 2023.
Making a Plan and Following it to Freedom
It is my determination and love of life and people that I will work extremely hard to show and impress upon my Unit, Counselors and Case Workers that I can and will return to a productive and meaningful life albeit upwards of 70 years old when released. In the short time since being sentenced, I have had to really understand what my challenge is going forward. I had 58 years to prepare for my one mistake that shattered my life and now have only 5 weeks to prepare and try to understand what I am up against for the next 144 months. Please help me, help me by following my journey to freedom and beyond. I realize that in the next 144 months, many of the people I love and care for may not be alive when I return. That is the stark cold reality of where and what I am about to embark upon. So it will be my determination, concentration and smart approach to everything I do in the next 144 months that will make a difference and hopefully return me home.
