Area News

An attempt to undercut the bribery case against former Hidalgo County Commissioner A.C. Cuellar Jr. backfired spectacularly on Tuesday, when the judge had to interrupt the trial to warn a witness. Arturo “A.C.” Cuellar Jr., 68, of Progreso Lakes arranged for a company to pay his cousin, former Weslaco City Commissioner John F. Cuellar, more…

In 2016, the FBI stumbled on something odd. Contractors had written big checks to Rio Grande City Municipal Judge Leonel J. Lopez Jr. One had “Weslaco WTP” written on the memo line. The FBI wanted to find out why. “The bank records of Mr. Lopez were kind of the origination of this case,” said FBI…

Former Weslaco City Commissioner Gerardo “Jerry” Tafolla spent Friday on the witness stand, attempting to answer questions about how, exactly, a businessman bribed him. Tafolla — who served on the City Commission from 2009 to 2019 — testified for more than five hours Friday in the Weslaco water treatment plant corruption trial. “I’m here to…

Three of Mission’s seven high-priority drainage projects begin at the end of the month, with the other four not too far behind. And although there is high anticipation for these projects, it means there will be several areas of construction through Mission for at least the next 10 months.  Projects Esperanza, Gabriel and Stewart are…

After receiving feedback following elections earlier in the year, the City of Mission updated the rules and regulations at polling sites for the upcoming general election in November.  At the Oct. 10 Mission City Council meeting, the mayor and council unanimously approved Ordinance 5236, amending Ordinance 4878 regarding electioneering within city property. Electioneering is when…

A program designed to aid low-income residents with high-energy costs came to a close when the Hidalgo County Community Service Agency exhausted all funding for the year. Now, the thousands of families who rely on the assistance have to make do until next year when they can apply for the program again.  The Hidalgo County…

After he bribed members of the Weslaco City Commission, former Rio Grande City Municipal Judge Leonel J. Lopez Jr. became a federal informant — and recorded conversations with the people he paid off. Prosecutors played a video Thursday during the Weslaco water treatment plant corruption trial that showed Lopez talking with former Weslaco City Commissioner…

When asked on Wednesday whether or not he accepted bribes, former Weslaco City Commissioner John Cuellar responded with a single word: “Yes.” John Cuellar said his cousin, former Hidalgo County Commissioner A.C. Cuellar, paid him about $405,000 from 2011 to 2014. In exchange, John Cuellar approved contracts worth more than $50 million to upgrade water…

In December 2014, an engineer called Interim Weslaco City Manager Elizabeth Walker. The engineer — Richard LeFevre — said San Antonio-based Briones Consulting & Engineering hadn’t paid him for work on the Weslaco water treatment plant. Weslaco had paid millions to Briones and Boston-based construction company CDM. LeFevre wanted his money too. During the conversation,…