Prosecutor: More charges could be imminent in PSJA case

McALLEN — More charges may be filed next month in the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo school district bribes-for-votes case, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday.

The announcement came the same day another indicted board member admitted she solicited kickbacks from contractors in exchange for funneling school district work to a list of preferred vendors.

Evangelina “Vangie” De Leon resigned her seat on the board Tuesday morning, before pleading guilty to one federal count of extortion.

As part of her plea agreement, the government withdrew all charges against her ex-husband, Ricardo De Leon, who was accused of serving as a middleman arranging bribes with contractors.

The admission of guilt makes Evangelina De Leon the third PSJA official in two months to confess to what prosecutors describe as a scheme that governed construction and service bids within the school district for at least six years.

Former district Superintendent Arturo Guajardo and former board member Rogelio “Roy” Rodriguez each pleaded guilty in December and have been cooperating with the government’s case against the remaining defendants.

Raul “Big Roy” Navarro is the only remaining indicted board member who has maintained his plea of not guilty.

“This doesn’t affect us,” his attorney, Al Alvarez, said. “We’re ready to go to trial. We’ll see what happens in the next couple of weeks.”

In a hearing before U.S. District Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa on Tuesday, prosecutors said statements from cooperating defendants have since provided enough new information to lead to additional charges.

However, it remains unclear whether a new indictment would target the current defendants or drag new contractors and public officials into the case.

“We’ve been coming into possession of information that we have not had previously,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Eastepp. “We may be adding additional charges.”

TRIAL DELAYED

Evangelina De Leon and her attorney, Jason Murray Davis, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Ricardo De Leon’s attorney, Donald James McCarthy, declined to say anything related to the case.

And while the day’s developments caught co-defendants’ lawyers off guard, they said they had heard others in the case were working with prosecutors on plea agreements.

Contractors George Hernandez and Arnulfo “Arnie” Olivarez were already charged in the case.

Navarro, Hernandez and Olivarez are set to go to trial March 4. But that date will likely be pushed back by today’s developments. A new indictment could delay the trial’s start date even further, Alvarez said.

“The problem is, we don’t know who these charges are against,” he said. “But I’m not really concerned about new charges against my client.”

Federal authorities arrested Guajardo and the three board members in June, concluding a two-year investigation into alleged bribes given in exchange for influence on school repair work, construction of new buildings and insurance for district employees.

According to a 22-count federal indictment, the accused officials accepted gifts from contractors such as Hernandez and Olivarez that included cash payments totaling more than $600,000, paid vacations, concert tickets and in some cases even the services of prostitutes.

On Tuesday, prosecutors agreed to drop 21 counts of conspiracy and extortion against Evangelina De Leon in exchange for her guilty plea and cooperation in the ongoing case.

Specifically, she admitted to taking an August 2002 trip with Rodriguez, Navarro, Guajardo and her ex-husband to Las Vegas, in which a company provided them with plane tickets, hotel rooms, gambling money and tickets to a Cher concert.

The unnamed contractor who paid for the trip owned a general labor and roofing company that received commissions for district work, according to court documents.

MOVING FORWARD

Under her deal with prosecutors, Evangelina De Leon must maintain her guilty plea until a sentencing hearing set for April. She could face up to 20 years in prison for her admission of guilt on the one count.

Her resignation Tuesday leaves two open seats on the scandal-plagued school board, but its president, Ben Garza, said he looked forward to moving on as the case concludes.

Remaining trustees will decide whether to hold a special election or appoint replacements for Evangelina De Leon and Rodriguez in the coming weeks, he said.

“This is bringing closure to an old issue,” he said. “We’re going to continue business with honesty and integrity.”