Former Eagle Pass City Manager Hector Chavez, Sr. allowed to represent himself pro se in federal court
By: Miguel Munoz, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2016
Former City of Eagle Pass, Texas City Manager Hector Chavez, Sr. was allowed to represent himself pro se in the pending federal criminal case in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Del Rio Division, by U.S. District Judge Alia Moses at a Tuesday, December 6, 2016, Court hearing.
Chavez was indicted by a federal grand jury on four counts of bribery and obstruction for his alleged participation in a “pay-to-play” scheme involving the awarding of a $270,000 contract with the Maverick County Solid Waste Authority to a contractor.
Chavez is charged with one count of paying $20,000 to a Maverick County Commissioner to influence and secure the awarding of a Maverick County landfill contract, falsification of records in a federal investigation, obstruction of justice, and making a false statement to a federal agent.
Chavez was arrested by federal agents on April 14, 2016 at his home in Eagle Pass. Chavez’s federal indictment is part of a larger FBI investigation of bribery and corruption in Maverick County public contracts that has already nabbed over 40 defendants, including four County Commissioners, a Justice of the Peace, Assistant County Auditor, and a Juvenile Probation Officer.
On April 15, 2016, Chavez tendered a letter of resignation as City Manager of Eagle Pass, Texas to Mayor Ramsey English Cantu.
On April 25, 2016, the Eagle Pass City Council appointed former Eagle Pass City Manager and Eagle Pass Water Works and Sewer System General Manager Roberto Gonzalez as Interim City Manager.
On May 4, 2016, United States Magistrate Judge Victor Roberto Garcia issued an Order denying Chavez bond in his federal criminal case after a contested bond hearing held on May 3rd. Chavez has remained detained at the Val Verde Correctional Facility in Del Rio, Texas since his arrest.
Chavez had retained a private attorney from San Antonio, Texas to represent him in the pending federal case, but the attorney recently requested permission to withdraw from the case and was granted said request to withdraw.
Subsequently, Chavez requested U.S. District Judge Alia Moses to allow him to represent himself pro se in the pending federal criminal case.
At a December 6, 2016, Court hearing, Judge Alia Moses granted Chavez’s request to represent himself and rescheduled his case for Docket Call and Rearraignment on January 10, 2017 to allow Chavez time to review the evidence in his case and have an opportunity to discuss the case with the United States Attorney’s Office before trial.
Chavez has until January 10, 2017 to advise U.S. District Judge Alia Moses if he will plead Not Guilty and proceed to a jury trial or plead Guilty and request a Plea Hearing, unless he requests an extension of his deadline.
Meanwhile, the Eagle Pass City Council has been unable to agree on a candidate to replace Chavez as the new City Manager since his resignation on April 15th and subsequent appointment of Roberto Gonzalez as Interim City Manager on April 25th, a period of almost eight months. At a December 5, 2016 Special Meeting, the Eagle Pass City Council agreed to interview three candidates for the City Manager post, including Arturo Rodriguez, Jesus Sanchez, and Rudy Bowles. A fourth candidate, Otis Jones, was previously interviewed. Eagle Passans anxiously await the appointment of a new City Manager, which more than likely will not happen until 2017.
