Former county commissioner, alleged conspirators arraigned Monday morning

Click HERE for the complete court docket.

The feds – FBI and IRS agents, et al – arrested former County Commissioner A. C. Cuellar, Jr.; former Weslaco City Commissioner John Cuellar (A.C.’s first cousin and longtime Weslaco city commissioner); and Rio Grande City ISD Board Trustee Daniel Garcia) last Friday and charged them with what basically boils down to a bribery/payola plot to pump up the price of a new Weslaco city water-treatment plant, and then make sure they and their friends profited from the largesse.

Originally, the water-treatment plant was estimated to cost taxpayers approximately $28 million, say federal prosecutors. By the time a certain group of people were finished milking the job for all it was worth, according to a criminal complaint filed against Cuellar and company, it’s final price tag came in around $40 million.

The project’s planning began in 2008; at least its original planning stage, according to the 18-page criminal complaint unsealed Monday.

So far, four people have pled not guilty to charges involving bribery, money laundering, and wire fraud, to name but a few, including the two Cuellars, Garcia, and Weslaco businessman Ricardo Quintanilla who was a former Weslaco EDC board member and failed city commission candidate.

Read the entire story on the e-Edition of our newspaper. http://www.etypeservices.com/Advance%20News%20JournalID455/