Reprint from the Progress Times - July 20, 2007
©Progress Times 2007 - All Rights Reserved

BREAKING NEWS
Former city manager and current parks director indicted in bribery scheme

A six-count federal indictment charging the former city manager of Mission, the current director of Parks and Recreation for Mission, and two contractors with paying and receiving bribes in exchange for official action that benefited the contractors and others in the awarding of numerous City of Mission contracts, has been unsealed, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle and FBI Special Agent in Charge Ralph G. Diaz announced today.

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, former City Manager Isauro Trevino, 35, and current Director of Parks and Recreation Joe Villegas, 50, were arrested Thursday morning (July 19), without incident by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Isauro Trevino and Villegas appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Peter Ormsby Thursday. The court ordered that Trevino and Villegas may be released upon depositing $5,000 of a $100,000 bond into the registry of the court. Arrest warrants have been issued for the two contractor defendants, Rene Cavazos, Jr., 47, of Mission and David Trevino (no relation to Isauro Trevino), 43, of San Antonio. Both men are expected to surrender to federal authorities.

"Taxpayer dollars are hard-earned and should be lawfully spent. When those who are charged with the obligation to act as stewards of the public's money, do so corruptly, we will seek to hold them accountable in our federal courts," said U.S. Attorney DeGabrielle.

"The FBI will address public corruption wherever it may be found and will always commit its resources to protect the public's trust," said Agent Ralph G. Diaz, special agent in charge of the FBI San Antonio Division.

The first count of the indictment, which was returned by July 17, accuses all four defendants of conspiring to commit extortion, mail fraud and making false statements to the FBI from 2001 through 2005. According to allegations in the indictment, Cavazos, David Trevino, and unindicted co-conspirator Daniel Rodriguez provided cash and goods totaling more than $75,000 to Isauro Trevino and Villegas in exchange for obtaining favorable treatment in the awarding of City of Mission contracts for sludge and debris removal, for walking trails and city parks, for projects at the Mission Adult Recreation Center, for a skate park, for the expansion of the Mayberry Pool, and for the painting of a downtown parking lot.

In return for the bribes, the indictment alleges Isauro Trevino and Villegas would (1) provide the defendant contractors with information about the bids of other contractors permitting the defendant contractors to submit the lowest bid; (2) accept fake or "dummy" bids from the defendant contractors to appear to meet the "three bid" requirement; and (3) split a single project into separate phases to bring a project in below the $25,000 threshold at which the city is required to seek bids. Isauro Trevino is also alleged to have caused the City of Mission to pay "change orders" to Rodriguez, which would allow Rodriguez to submit the low bid since he had assurances that he would later be able to increase his project income through change orders.

According to allegations in the indictment, Isauro Trevino deposited cash bribes he received from Cavazos and Rodriguez in to a bank account registered in his mother-in-law's name and then later transferred those funds to pay for his own home and car loans.

Count two for the indictment charges Isauro Trevino and Villegas with Hobbs Act extortion for accepting money from Cavazos in exchange for favorable treatment in the awarding of more than $250,000 in Parks Department projects to Cavazos from 2001 through 2004. Count three of the indictment charges Isauro Trevino with Hobbs Act extortion for accepting money from Cavazos in exchange for favorable treatment in the awarding of more than $500,000 in street department projects to Cavazos from 2002 through 2004. Count Four charges Isauro Trevino with accepting materials and labor for the installation of stucco to his home from David Trevino and Rodriguez in exchange for favorable treatment in the approval of a $75,900 change order for the Mission Adult Recreation Center and in the process related to the awarding of contracts for a skate park. Count Five charges Isauro Trevino with making a false statement to the FBI in 2003 concerning the installation of the stucco at his home.

Joe Villegas is also charged in Count Six with making false statements to the FBI in 2005 concerning the bidding process for athletic equipment a the Mission Adult Recreation Center.

The conspiracy count charged against all four defendants carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, upon conviction. Each of the Hobbs Act extortion counts carries a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, and the false statement counts carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison upon conviction. Each of the six counts also carries a maximum fine of $250,000. There is no parole in the federal system.

Unindicted co-conspirator Daniel Rodriguez has been convicted and sentenced for his own Hobbs Act extortion conviction in another case arising from the ongoing FBI Investigation that has led to charges being filed in this case.

The case was investigated by agents with the McAllen Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Gregg Costa and Larry Eastepp.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.