Staff

-Eagle Pass

According to the Federal Court in Del Rio, four Maverick County residents, two of which have been detained since October, plead guilty in re-arraignment proceedings held on Thursday.

According to federal sources, Alejandra Garcia, ex-employee for the Maverick County Auditor's office, Eduardo Rene Rodriguez and Jaime Flores, both of whom worked in Precinct , 1and David Gelacio all plead guilty and now await sentencing.

Garcia declared herself guilty of one charge of bribery as she was in charge of paying contractors for the County.  She is free on bond and is awaiting her date to be sentenced as well as restitution on bail money.

Flores, brother of Commissioner Cesar Flores, also plead guilty of one count of theft.

Rodriguez plead guilty on one charge of bribery as well. According to the federal accusation, Rodriguez was an intermediary between the county and contractors and would tell contractors how much to bid followed by the delivery of bribes to commissioners.

Staff

-Eagle Pass

Director of Human Resources Jesus Costilla informed The News Gram that as of Wednesday, Cesar Flores, a teacher with the EPISD is suspended with pay pending the result of the criminal charges facing him in US Federal Court. Flores is currently serving as County Commissioner of Precinct 4 and on Thursday of last week he was formally charged with having received kickbacks and bribes in a bid rigging scheme in Maverick County. According to EPISD authorities, this procedure is part of school policy and it is applied to all employees facing such legal situations and it is temporary until Flores takes care of any and all legal matters facing him in Federal Court in Del Rio. Flores, along with Eliaz Maldonado and Rudy Heredia are facing similar charges according to the US Department of Justice. He has been working for the school district for 14 years at CC Win High School while also serving as County Commissioner of Precinct 4.

Department of Justice

United States Attorney's Office

Western District of Texas

In Del Rio this morning, a federal grand jury indicted Maverick County Precinct Two Commissioner Rodolfo

Bainet Heredia, age 54, of Eagle Pass, Texas, in connection with an alleged bribery, kickback and bid-rigging

scheme, announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and FBI Special Agent in Charge Armando

Fernandez.

The federal grand jury indictment charges Heredia with six counts of receiving a bribe and one count of paying

a bribe to an agent of an organization receiving federal funds. The indictment alleges that in 2010 and 2011,

Heredia manipulated the bidding process to guarantee that contractors he chose would be awarded Maverick

County construction contracts. Those contractors deposited the checks issued to them by Maverick County and

then made cash payments to Heredia. According to the indictment, the private contractors submitted inflated

bids to Maverick County in order to ensure the availability of sufficient funds to perform the construction work,

make a profit, and also to pay the bribe to Heredia. The indictment further alleges that Heredia gave benefits to

a county employee to guarantee that checks were issued to the contractors involved in this scheme.

Upon conviction, Heredia faces up to ten years in federal prison on each count. Heredia remains in custody

following his arrest in October of last year on federal money laundering and bulk cash smuggling charges. A

trial on those charges is scheduled for April 16, 2013. No court dates have been scheduled in connection with

today’s indictment.

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.

An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendant is

presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.