It may turn out that the family who pays-to-play together, stays together. Maybe in the same federal prison.
Progreso, Texas Mayor Omar Leonel Vela; his brother, Progreso School Board Chairman Michael Vela; and his father, Progreso School District Maintenance and Transportation Supervisor Jose Guadalupe Vela, Jr. were arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation earlier this week on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, violations of the Travel Act, theft, and bribery.
It is alleged they participated in a scheme to create a “pay-to-play” public contracting system in Progreso. According to the indictment, they used their control of Progreso municipal government and the Board of Trustees of the Progreso Independent School District (PISD) to extract bribes and kickbacks from service providers to PISD and the city.
More details of the scheme were revealed in this news story by KTRK-TV out of Houston, Texas. Quoting an excerpt from KTRK-TV’s story:
The indictment alleges that Jose Vela controlled the school district and board through a system of reward and retaliation. He recruited people to run for seats on the board and punished those who voted against his wishes. He also distributed bribe money to board trustees who voted as instructed. His influence extended to the city as well, where he dictated who was awarded contracts for public projects, the indictment said.
There’s an interesting twist in the arrest of Mayor Vela. According to KGBT-TV Action News 4 in Harlingen, Texas, Mayor Vela will be the only candidate in the upcoming November mayoral election in Progreso.
The US Attorney’s Office for Southern District of Texas is 7th largest in terms of personnel. It prosecutes more cases against more defendants (see example) than any other US Attorney’s Office nationwide. It represents 43 counties and 8.3 million people and covering 44,000 square miles.
OpenCdA notes with some envy that in the Southern District of Texas, an area with very significant federal crime, the FBI and US Attorney Kenneth Magidson seek out and pursue public corruption wherever it is — even in a town of 5,700 people.