In a quaint little Texas town with only 7,500 residents, corrupt politicians and black sludge are plaguing its residents. As they say, everything is bigger in Texas and that must include the corruption.
Over the past couple months, the FBI has been wrangling up law breaking and bribe taking politicians in Crystal City, about 130 miles southwest of San Antonio. It has been reported that all the City Officials have been arrested thus far for various federal charges such as bribery and even human smuggling.
Local businessmen were award taxpayer-funded contracts by City Officials in exchange for bribes, as well as extorting payments from contractors.
To make matters worse for the citizens of this town is the fact that just this past Wednesday, residents have been sharing pictures on social media of dark-colored water running out of their taps. The city is advising residents to boil their water and/or let it run before using it.
ABC 12 News reported, “We didn’t get a proper warning,” resident Nora Flores-Guerrero said. “They didn’t post anything or sent out any type of message to warn the residents. It was pretty scary.”
Flores-Guerrero said her water just stank Wednesday night. She said others had much darker water.
“It looked like black sludge. They were comparing it to oil — that dark,” Flores-Guerrero said.
City Water/Wastewater Superintendent Carlos Ramirez said the tower hadn’t been cleaned in 20 or 30 years. Asked why they didn’t warn people ahead of time, Ramirez said they didn’t know the sediment was going to get into distribution lines.
According to the FBI, a federal grand jury had returned indictment charges earlier this month for the City Manager and City Attorney William James Jonas, III, age 54; Mayor Ricardo Lopez, age 40; Mayor Pro-Tem Rogelio Mata, age 43; City councilman Roel Mata, age 44, and former City Councilman Gilbert Urrabazo, age 45; and, Ngoc Tri Nguyen, age 38, with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery involving an entity receiving over $10,000 in federal funds. Jonas is also charged with three substantive federal programs bribery charges; the remaining defendants, with one substantive federal programs bribery charge each.
The indictment alleges that since February 2015, Jonas, Lopez, Rogelio Mata, Roel Mata and Urrabazo used their official positions to enrich themselves by soliciting and accepting bribes from persons seeking to do business in Crystal City. According to the indictment, Jonas managed the bribery scheme, in which a contractor provided bribes totaling more than $12,000 to Jonas, Rogelio Mata, Roel Mata, and Urrabazo, in exchange for their votes for a City contract.
The indictment also alleges that Nguyen provided payment directly to Lopez, including $6,000, in exchange for various official acts from Lopez and Jonas. The indictment further alleges that Jonas proposed a kickback scheme to an attorney, in which that attorney would pay Jonas a portion of the legal fees paid by an entity seeking a contract with the City. In exchange for Jonas securing these bribes, Lopez, Rogelio Mata, Roel Mata, and Urrabazo allegedly voted to award Jonas a lucrative contract to serve as both City Manager and City Attorney.
“This case represents our continuing commitment to investigate and punish those who corrupt the process of fair and open government, and to root out the corrosive effect of government officials who sell their office and the public trust they hold for their personal gain,” stated United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr.
“While most public officials faithfully promote the interests of the communities they serve, today’s arrests should serve as a powerful reminder that officials who abuse their authority will be held accountable,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs. “Public corruption is one of the most insidious crimes confronting our communities today. It contributes to the cynicism we are seeing from members of the public who often feel as though all politicians are corrupt and the government does not serve the needs of those citizens who can’t pay for access to their elected officials.”
“Public corruption erodes the trust that citizens place in government officials. We are glad to work together with our federal partners to investigate and arrest those who violate that trust,” stated San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.
Upon conviction, each defendant faces up to ten years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine. All of the defendants, with the exception of Jonas, Urrabazo and Nguyen, were arrested this morning in Crystal City without incident and taken to the federal courthouse in Del Rio for their initial appearance. Jonas and Urrabazo were arrested this morning in San Antonio. Nguyen was arrested this morning in Keller, TX.
This ongoing joint investigation is being conducted by the FBI and the San Antonio Police Department with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigative Division and the Texas Rangers. Individuals who have first-hand information about corruption, fraud, or bribery related to Crystal City are urged to contact the FBI at (210) 225-6741.
Moe is the founder of GnosticWarrior.com. He is a father, husband, author, martial arts black belt, and an expert in Gnosticism, the occult, and esotericism.
