Ex-SISD trustee Guillermo “Willie” Gandara Sr. pleads guilty, faces 3 1/2 years in prison [El Paso Times, Texas]

July 23--Former Socorro Independent School District board president Guillermo "Willie" Gandara Sr., the last defendant among 11 people charged in a 2010 public corruption indictment tied to Access HealthSource, pleaded guilty Monday.

Gandara pleaded guilty to a charge of aiding and abetting wire fraud and deprivation of honest services as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Frank Montalvo told Gandara during his plea hearing Monday afternoon that he intended to honor the recommended maximum three and a half year prison sentence, unless prosecutors filed a request for a lesser sentence.

Gandara's jury trial had

been scheduled to start with jury selection Monday morning. Instead, defense attorneys and federal prosecutors spent most of the morning apparently in discussions over the plea agreement.

Prosecutors had alleged that Gandara, 63, accepted a $1,000 bribe in 2006 from an Access HealthSource spokesman in exchange for his vote on the Socorro Independent School District board supporting Access, which sought to be the district's health-insurance provider.

During an April 2005 board meeting, trustees initially approved Access as the district's insurance provider, with Gandara and fellow trustees Charlie Garcia and Raymundo "Ray"Rodriguez holding the majority vote. After some discussion,

the board, including Garcia, then rejected the vote and approved another health provider.

Ten others charged in the Access indictment have already pleaded guilty to various charges of fraud or violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO. They are former Access spokesman Marc Schwartz; former Access President Francisco "Frank" Apodaca; former El Paso County Judge Luther Jones; former El Paso County District Clerk Gilbert Sanchez; lawyer David Escobar; former Ysleta Independent School District board trustees Linda Chavez and Milton "Mickey" Duntley; former city Rep. and County Commissioner Larry Medina; and Garcia and Rodriguez.

During Monday's plea hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Kanof read from Gandara's factual basis that Apodaca was raised in Socorro and had attended Socorro High School. He also maintained relationships with the Gandara family, whose members are prominent in the Socorro community.

Gandara was once Socorro's mayor, as was his son, Guillermo "Willie" Gandara Jr. Gandara Sr.'s other son, Gary, also served as a Socorro school board trustee.

Federal prosecutors had alleged Gandara Sr. assisted Rodriguez's election campaign for Socorro board trustee by "securing money for Rodriguez from certain vendors to whom Gandara and Rodriguez would be indebted," according to court documents filed in the case.

As part of the agreement, prosecutors claim, Rodriguez would vote to secure school district contracts with vendors of Gandara's choice, while Gandara would vote for contracts with vendors of Rodriguez's choice.

Kanof said at the time of the Access vote, then-Socorro superintendent Hector Duron implemented a set of board operating procedures, including an ethics statement prohibiting vendors seeking contracts with the district from lobbying or soliciting trustees during the selection process.

While the district was seeking health care providers, Kanof said, Gandara Sr. admonished one health care company for violating the process by emailing trustees.

"The defendant was aware of the rules," Kanof said during Monday's hearing.

Gandara became emotional during Monday's hearing when Montalvo insisted Gandara answer questions about whether Gandara Sr. agreed to participate in the Access scheme in order to personally benefit from it. Gandara Sr. initially denied the allegation. After a 20-minute break while Gandara Sr. consulted with his attorneys, Joseph Vasquez and Jim Darnell, a tearful Gandara admitted to prosecutors he wanted Rodriguez to approve district contracts with construction companies that did business with Gandara Sr.'s recycling business.

Gandara, who remains free on bond pending his Nov. 6 sentencing, declined to comment to the media outside of the federal courthouse following Monday's hearing.

Apodaca, Schwartz, Garcia and Rodriguez are also scheduled to be sentenced on the same day as Gandara, along with "some others," Montalvo said during Gandara's plea hearing.

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