“MIDDLE MAN” WHO FORWARDED BRIBE PAYMENTS TO WILLACY COUNTY COMMISSIONERS SENTENCED

    BROWNSVILLE, Texas – The man who arranged the delivery of bribe payments to two Willacy County commissioners in exchange for contract advantages in the construction of the Willacy County Adult Correctional Center (Center) in Raymondville, Texas, was sentenced today, U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced.

David Cortez, 72, of Laredo, Texas, will be serving a three-month term of imprisonment at a facility to be designated by the U.S. Bureau of Bureau of Prisons to be followed by a two-year term of supervised release during which Cortez will be confined to his home for six months. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen imposed the sentence this morning and further ordered Cortez to pay a $25,000 fine.

Two Willacy County commissioners -- Jose Jimenez, of Sebastian, Texas, and Commissioner Israel Tamez, 60, of Raymondville, Texas, were convicted in January 2005 for accepting bribe payments in exchange for contract advantages in the construction of the Center, which houses federal inmates. On March 24, 2005, former Webb County Commissioner David Cortez, who arranged the delivery of the bribe payments to these men, admitted to forwarding a series of payments totaling approximately $39,000 from a corporation involved in soliciting a consulting contract regarding the Center in Willacy County. The payments were in exchange for providing the particular corporation with advantages not available to others interested in, and competing for the consulting contract concerning the Center.

Former Willacy County Commission Israel Tamez was sentenced to six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and fined $25,000.

The charges against former Willacy County Commissioner Jose Jimenez were dismissed following his death earlier this year.

Cortez, who had been serving as a county commission for Webb County at the time of his conviction, resigned following the entry of his guilty plea in March 2005.

The charges filed against David Cortez and the two commissioners were the result of an investigation conducted by special agents of the FBI, the Texas Rangers, and the Willacy County Sheriff’s Department.