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A.D. Ibarra
-Eagle Pas
Lieutenant Moses Peña, Interim Chief for the Eagle Pass Police Department, informed The News Gram of the arrival of four new Chevy Tahoe units which will begin to be put to use sometime next week. The units which come after the department had already put five of them into service along with another new K-9 unit. "We are happy to receive these new units and will assign two officers to each," stated the interim chief, "This way, the units will be in service for two shifts and will rest one shift in order to avoid overuse.
Staff
-Eagle Pass
On Monday, at a special meeting of maverick County Commissioner's Court, Rito Valdez III was approved as the new County Treasurer which was left vacant the moment that Roberto Ruiz became County Commissioner of Precinct 4. Valdez was approved in a 4-0-1 vote with Commissioner Daniela Aleman abstaining. On Tuesday, Valdez was sworn in as the new man in charge of the finances of Maverick County in a ceremony attended by friends and family of the new man in charge of this most important position. The Honorable Judge David R. Saucedo kept the atmosphere light when mentioning that this was yet another press conference much like the many that have been happening in the past days.
In Del Rio, Texas, Eduardo De La Garza, owner of Rio Bravo Construction in Eagle Pass, faces up to ten years
in federal prison after pleading guilty this morning to paying a bribe to an agent of an organization receiving
federal funds in connection with an alleged bribery, kickback and bid-rigging scheme in Maverick County
announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and FBI Special Agent in Charge Armando Fernandez.
Appearing before United States Magistrate Judge Victor Garcia, De La Garza admitted that in May 2011, he
submitted a $19,800 bid to Maverick County to construct a concrete pad at the intersection of Winsor Avenue
and Bianca Road in Precinct 4. DeLaGarza further admitted that he has never constructed the pad even though
he received two checks from Maverick County--a $9,900 check to commence work and then $9,900 check for
the completion of the concrete pad. Furthermore, DeLaGarza admitted that he made a cash payment to an
employee working in the Maverick County Auditor’s Office for each check he received. According to court
records, both checks were issued to De La Garza without undergoing the appropriate internal review process by
Maverick County.
DeLaGarza remains on bond pending sentencing which has yet to be scheduled.
This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Texas Department
of Public Safety. Individuals who have first-hand information about corruption, fraud, or bribery related to
Maverick County are urged to contact the FBI at (210) 225-6741. Assistant United States Attorney Michael
Galdo is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
In 2010 and 2011, Maverick County received hundreds of thousands of federal dollars as part of Operation
Stonegarden, a federal grant program that provides funding to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies
to enhance their capabilities to jointly secure U.S. borders and territories.