Two lawyers, as well as a nonlawyer, have been charged as part of a public corruption sting in Texas. According to court documents, the defendants — John Z. Cuellar, an attorney who served as Weslaco city commissioner, Rio Grande city attorney Daniel Garcia, and a nonlawyer, Arturo C. Cuellar Jr., John Cuellar’s cousin who was a Hidalgo County commissioner — were part of a scheme involving bribes to award multimillion-dollar engineering and construction contracts. They are alleged to have worked with “Commissioner A,” as well as Leonel Lopez Jr., who has pleaded guilty on a federal bribery charge, and Weslaco businessman Ricardo Quintanilla, who is facing charges separately.
As reported by Law.com, the bribery scheme is alleged to have occurred over the course of eight years — from 2008 to 2016. The Cuellars are accused of accepting bribes (Arturo Cuellar to the tune of $1.4 million and John Cuellar in the amount of $405,000) to award contracts for city engineering projects to specific construction management companies:
The complaint alleged that Lopez, the one who’s pleaded guilty, said that for payment, he’d ensure that contracts were awarded to that construction management company, and another San Antonio engineering company. Next, Lopez got agreements from Arturo Cuellar and John Cuellar, who said they’d take their official action of voting to approve of the contracts for the two companies. The Cuellars got bribe payments in return, alleged the complaint.
Next, prosecutors alleged the Cuellars knew that Lopez in 2011 worked with Ricardo Quintanilla, a Weslaco businessman, who had convinced “Commissioner A” to take bribes for votes that enriched the two companies by granting them city contracts. Lopez was paying the money and Quintanilla was delivering it to Commissioner A, according to the complaint.
In 2012, a McAlllen engineering company also got in on the action, funneling bribes through Lopez to get the commissioners’ votes so the company would receive subcontracts on the water plant work and other city contracts, alleged the complaint.
According to the complaint, Garcia became part of the scheme in 2012 when he allegedly helped Lopez and Arturo Cuellar launder bribes to John Cuellar through his Interest on Lawyers Trust Account. In exchange, Garcia is alleged to have assisted the scheme to get a friend of his — another attorney — a job. In 2014, that friend got a job in the city of Weslaco.
Public Corruption Sting Leads To Arrest Of Two Lawyers curated from Above the Law
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