Indicted City Manager Hector Chavez, Sr. Resigns, City Council appoints former City Manager Roberto Gonzalez Interim City Manager
By: Jose G. Landa, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2016
Federally indicted City of Eagle Pass, Texas City Manager Hector Chavez, Sr. presented his official Letter of Resignation to Mayor Ramsey English Cantu with an effective date of April 15, 2016 even though he remains in federal custody at the Val Verde County Correctional Center-GEO in Del Rio, Texas, awaiting a Bond hearing at 9 A.M. on Tuesday, April 26, 2016 before United States Magistrate Judge Victor Roberto Garcia for the Western District of Texas, Del Rio Division, in Del Rio, Texas.
The City of Eagle Pass City Council held a special meeting on Monday, April 25, 2016, at 12 Noon, to consult and discuss City Manager Hector Chavez, Sr.’s employment contract with City Attorney, Langley & Banack of San Antonio, Texas, after previously postponing it on Wednesday, April 20, 2016 in order to receive Chavez’s letter of resignation.
The Eagle Pass City Council, composed of Mayor Ramsey English Cantu, Mayor Pro-Tem Rudy Villalpando, and Council Members Luis E. Sifuentes, Gloria E. Hernandez, and Yolanda P. Ramon, went into Executive Session together with Legal Counsel to discuss Chavez’s employment contract with the City.
After a lengthy Executive Session with legal counsel, the Eagle Pass City Council returned into Open Session and motioned to appoint former City Manager and Eagle Pass Water Works System General Manager Roberto Gonzalez as Interim City Manager. Mayor Cantu stated that Gonzalez was appointed Interim City Manager due to his experience and knowledge concering municipal government.
The Eagle Pass City Council also approved to commence a selection process for a new City Manager with advertising in certain statewide publications and associations as well as contacting the previous nine other applicants passed over without an interview in favor of Chavez to invite them to reapply.
Interim City Manager Roberto Gonzalez is a “Consultant” to the Eagle Pass Water Works and Sewer System under the helm of General Manager Jorge Barrera.
Chavez was indicted by a federal grand jury in Del Rio, Texas on four felony counts on April 15, 2016, including paying a $20,000 bribe to a Maverick County Commissioner to ensure a Maverick County Solid Waste Authority contract worth $270,000, forging a contract to hide the kick-backs or bribes he paid the Maverick County Commissioner, obstructing justice by providing a falsified contract in response to a federal grand jury subpoena, and lying to federal law enforcement agents investigating the case concerning the legitimacy of his contract.
Chavez faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted and other serious fines and penalties. A person accused in an indictment is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
