Feds arrest San Antonio businessman related to Maverick County corruption investigation
By: Jose G. Landa
An Exclusive Eagle Pass Business Journal News Story/Copyright 2013
A San Antonio, Texas businessman, German Garcia Cano, was arrested this morning, April 11, 2013, at his north San Antonio home by FBI agents as a result of a federal grand jury indictment from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Del Rio Division, in Del Rio, Texas, charging him with two counts of bribery.
The FBI and the Texas Rangers have been conducting an investigation of corruption and bribery in Maverick County, Texas which has already arrested over 15 persons, including three Maverick County Commissioners and County employees. Several of these defendants have already plead guilty, including one was dismissed on Tuesday, April 9th due to insufficient evidence.
Cano is allegedly an owner of a heavy equipment machinery company in San Antonio and is alleged to have paid Maverick County officials a bribe in exchange for renting equipment from his business at an inflated price.
Cano will now be transferred to a United States Magistrate Judge either in San Antonio or Del Rio for his initial appearance and subsequently a bond hearing.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court at law.
Official Press Release follows:
In San Antonio this morning, federal authorities arrested German Garcia Cano, owner of GGC Enterprises, Inc., on bribery charges 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.
A federal grand jury indictment, returned yesterday in Del Rio and unsealed earlier today, charges the 53-yearold San Antonio resident with two counts of paying a bribe to an agent of an organization receiving federal funds and wire fraud. According to the indictment, Maverick County paid GGC hundreds of thousands of dollars between 2009 and 2012 for leasing heavy equipment used in construction projects in Maverick County.
The indictment alleges that Cano paid bribes to two Maverick County employees to insure that GGC secured those leasing contracts with Maverick County and to receive his checks from the county.
Upon conviction, Cano faces up to 10 years in federal prison per count.
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.
