Eagle Passan Marcelo Alvarez indicted by federal grand jury for bribery of Two Maverick County Commissioners
By: Jose G. Landa
Copyright 2013 Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.
Well-known Eagle Pass, Texas surveyor and contractor, Marcelo Alvarez, was arrested on Thursday, November 21, 2013b by federal agents including U.S. Marshal’s Service and FBI and Texas Department of Public Safety Texas Rangers in Eagle Pass, Texas during the early morning hours arising from a federal grand jury indictment against him filed on Wednesday, November 20th, in the United States District Court, Western District of Texas, Del Rio Division, charing him with one count of paying a bribe to two Maverick County Commissioners.
The federal grand jury criminal indictment alleges that Marcelo Alvarez contracted with independent engineering and consulting firms to manage large construction projects in Maverick County, Texas. The federal criminal indictment also alleges that “Marcelo Alvarez corruptly paid money to Maverick County elected officials, including County Commissioner A and County Commissioner B in 2010, 2011, and 2012 in order to guarantee that a company received the support of those County Commissioners. The support of those County Commissioners resulted in that company being selected to perform engineering, project management, and consulting services for the County. The County paid in excess of $800,000 for those services. Marcelo Alvarez was designated as the Resident Project Representative and received payment for his services.”
The federal criminal indictment further alleges that Maverick County received more than $10,000 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2010, 2011, and 2012.
The federal criminal indictment charges Marcelo Alvarez of corruptly give, offer, and agree to give a thing of value to County Commissioner A and County Commissioner B, who were agents or employees of Maverick County intending to influence and reward County Commissioner A and County Commissioner B, in connection with a transaction and series of transactions of Maverick County involving $5,000 or more, in violation of 18 United States Code Section 666(a)(2).
Marcelo Alvarez if convicted faces up to 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment on all counts.
Marcelo Alvarez appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Victor Roberto Garcia for the Western District of Texas, Del Rio Division, on Thursday, November 21st, for his initial Court Appearance and was released on a $30,000 unsecured bond.
An accused defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a Court-at-Law. An indictment is only allegations of wrongdoing by an individual or entity. An accused defendant has the constitutional right to plead not guilty and have a trial by a jury of his peers.
Indictment:
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