Jenni Rivera Death: Plane Owner Christian E. Esquino Nuñez at Center of Drug Investigation

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by Alexis L. Loinaz | Fri., Dec. 14, 2012 5:48 AM

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

More answers are beginning to surface in the tragic death of Jenni Rivera, but looming questions remain about the man who owned the plane she was riding in.

Mexican businessman Christian E. Esquino Nuñez is currently at the center of a probe by the Drug Enforcement Administration, an agency spokeswoman revealed Thursday, per published reports.

The agency also disclosed that earlier this year, it had seized two planes managed by his company, Starwood Management.

Jenni Rivera's remains released to family; two officers arrested for looting crash site

DEA officials have reportedly subpoenaed company documents pertaining to any ties Nuñez might have had with a former Tijuana mayor suspected of running an organized criminal operation.

Nuñez himself has a spotty criminal record: He's been convicted of falsifying aircraft records and counterfeiting government inspection stamps. In the early 1990s, he was indicted on drug charges connected with a Florida crime ring, and recently he was reportedly sentenced to two years in federal prison for aviation fraud.

Earlier this week, the 50-year-old businessman confirmed that the singer was looking to purchase the aircraft that eventually caused her death, but he insisted that the plane was well-maintained.

On Thursday, Rivera's remains, which were identified by her family, were released to them and were en route back to the U.S. The cause of the crash is currently under investigation.

Jenni Rivera: A life in pictures