Rosales and Iracheta’s Rearraignment Court Hearing Scheduled April 14th
By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2015, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.
Maverick County Commissioner Precinct 3 Jose Luis Rosales and former Maverick County Justice of the Peace Precinct 3-1 Cesar Iracheta are scheduled for their Rearraingment Court hearings on Tuesday, April 14, 2015 at 9 A.M. before United States District Judge Alia Moses for the Western District of Texas, Del Rio Division, in their respective federal criminal cases in Del Rio, Texas.
A Rearraignment Court hearing is for a Defendant to advise the Court if they plan to plead not guilty and request a jury trial or guilty and request a plea hearing, or if the Defendant needs additional time to review the discovery and prepare for any pre-trial motions and trial.
Commissioner Rosales is charged with receipt of a bribe by an agent of an organization receiving federal funds. Eagle Pass attorney Greg Torres represents Rosales in the pending federal criminal case.
On February 20, 2015, FBI agents arrested 35-year-old Maverick County Precinct 3 Commissioner and Eagle Pass Independent School District teacher Jose Luis Rosales after a federal grand jury in Del Rio indicted him in connection with an alleged bribery, kickback and bid-rigging scheme in Maverick County, Texas.
The February 18, 2015 federal grand jury indictment charges Rosales with four counts of receiving bribes. The indictment alleges that in 2011 and 2012, Rosales manipulated the bidding process to guarantee that individuals he chose would be awarded Maverick County public construction contracts and these contractors deposited the checks issued to them by Maverick County and then made cash payments to Rosales.
According to the federal 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 Rosales.
If convicted, Rosales faces up to ten years in federal prison for each bribery charge.
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.
Former Maverick County Justice of the Peace Precinct 3-1 Cesar Iracheta is also set to appear before U.S. District Judge Alia Moses for his rearraignment hearing on Tuesday, April 14th, and is being charged by a federal indictment of paying a bribe to an agent of an organization receiving federal funds. Iracheta is represented by San Antonio attorney Jaime Efren Cavazos.
Iracheta, who is 56 years old and owned a construction company named “C & A Construction” was arrested on February 20, 2015, on federal bribery charges in a “pay-to-play” scheme involving Maverick County public construction contracts.
A federal grand jury indictment, returned on February 18,2015, charges Iracheta with two counts of paying bribes. The federal indictment alleges that in 2010, Iracheta, doing business as C&A Construction, paid a bribe to a Maverick County Commissioner in order to secure two Precinct 2 County public construction contracts worth approximately $49,000. The federal indictment further alleges that in 2011 Iracheta paid a bribe to another Maverick County Commissioner in order to secure a Precinct One County public construction contract worth $22,500.
According to the federal indictment, Iracheta submitted inflated bids to Maverick County in order for there to be sufficient funds to perform the construction work, make a profit, and pay bribes to the Maverick County Commissioners.
If convicted, Iracheta faces up to ten years in federal prison for each bribery charge.
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.
Both Rosales and Iracheta are currently out on bond.
Maverick County has been rocked by the largest public corruption investigation in its history during the past three years resulting in over 20 individuals being indicted, and having plead guilty, including former Maverick County Commissioners Rudy Heredia, Cesar Flores, and Eliaz Maldonado. Commissioner Rosales’ indictment makes it now four of the five Maverick County Commissioners Court members being indicted in this public corruption scandal which abused Maverick County taxpayers public funds in a public construction contracts bribery, bid-rigging, and pay-to-play scheme.
This ongoing Maverick County public corruption investigation is being conducted by the FBI and the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigative Division together with the Customs and Border Protection Office of Internal Affairs. 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.
