You may remember back in 2012 when I reported on Democratic Party candidate for Hidalgo County Precinct 1 Constable Robert “Bobby” Maldonado being caught with over $1 million cash in his car’s trunk. Well, I now have a Hidalgo County guilty plea update.
But not on Maldonado. Last time I checked, he was out on a $200,000 bond.
No, I have an update on a completely different Hidalgo County Democratic Party law enforcement officer charged with money laundering.
Former Hidalgo County Sheriff Guadalupe “Lupe” Treviño, a nine-year veteran of the office and a fixture of the region’s Democratic Party, pleaded guilty on Monday to federal charges of money laundering. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas said the former lawman “received cash contributions for his election campaign from alleged drug trafficker Tomas ‘El Gallo’ Gonzalez.”
Trevino’s former chief of staff, Maria P. Medina, also plead guilty.
Also keep in mind that this was after Trevino prepared termination papers for his second in command, Jose Padilla after the feds arrested him for “marijuana smuggling and money laundering,” also reportedly in the pay of Gonzalez.
I wonder how many other shoes might drop.
Texas Attorney General (and 2014 Gubernatorial favorite) Greg Abbott penned this editorial on the topic, containing this great quote (albeit it one only tangentially related to the question of border corruption):
Conservative is not a color, it is not a race, it is not an ethnicity. It is a commitment to the idea that every American has a chance to succeed; that faith and family are foremost; that jobs and education are the best pathway to a better future; and that secure communities are a part of all that.
Tags: Crime, Democratic Party, Greg Abbott, Guadalupe “Lupe” Trevino, Hidalgo County, Rio Grande Valley, Robert "Bobby" Maldonado, Texas, Tomas "El Gallo" Gonzalez