Department of Justice

United States Attorney's Office

Western District of Texas

In Eagle Pass, Texas this morning, Maverick County Precinct Four Commissioner Cesar Flores, age 46 of Eagle

Pass, Texas, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after a federal grand jury in Del Rio

indicted him this week 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, returned yesterday and unsealed this morning, charges Flores with five

counts of receiving bribes. The indictment alleges that in 2010 and 2011, Flores 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

Flores. According to the indictment, the private contractors submitted inflated bids to Maverick County in

order for there to be sufficient funds to perform the construction work, make a profit, and pay the bribe to

Flores.

Upon conviction, Flores faces up to ten years in federal prison for each bribery charge. Flores appeared before

Magistrate Judge Victor Roberto Garcia this morning in Del Rio for his Initial Appearance. Bond for Flores

was set at $40,000.

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.

A.D. Ibarra

-Eagle Pass

Coach Neto Reyes' Eagle Pass Eagles were at the EPISD Sports Complex Gymnasium on Tuesday to d battle with the Laredo Alexander Bulldogs in what a very close and highly entertaining affair early as the two squads contested every ball, pass and shot.

The game was 27-17 with 2:11 remaining in the second quarter when errant passes and turnovers began to rear their ugly head against a team which sits atop of District 29-AAAAA and who play a stifling, in-your-face style of defense which can be scored on, but which is merciless to mistakes.

RJ Ruiz found out how officials were going to call this game when he was called for a questionable charge with 1:40 remaining in the half. Then an inside pass to Nowlin Wilson, a 6' plus inside player with good ball handling skills got a nice pass inside and scored making it 29-17.

Ty Chisum responded with a coast to coast layup to make it 29-19, then he made a nice pass to David Even to make it 29-21 and he tried to attack the basket with seconds left on the clock, but the Bulldogs were nursing a 31-21 lead at the break.

"They were playing well and staying with us and breaking our press," said Luis Valdez, Bulldog Head Coach, "We just can't back down."

"We needed to keep being strong with the ball," said Reyes, "Take care of it and stick to fundamentals."

The Bulldogs began to pull away in the third quarter opening up a 59-34 lead.

In the end the Dogs ran away with a 72-54 victory.

Ty Chisum and Johhny Garza led the Eagles with 10 points each.  Fabian Peña and David Even had five at the break and contributed more in the second half.

Johnny Moreno, Wilson and Danny Benavides led the way for Alexander

The Eagles take on United South tomorrow in Laredo.

Staff

-Eagle Pass

On Wednesday, January 16th, a ceremony was held in which attorney Patricia O. Alvarez was given the responsibility by the United States Department of Justice to function as Judge of the 4th Court of Appeals.

Felipe Hernandez, President of the Maverick County Bar Association, informed The News Gram that the event was to take place yesterday at the Old Maverick County Court House.