Former SISD trustee Guillermo “Willie” Gandara Sr. pleads guilty [El Paso Times, Texas]

July 22--Former Soccoro Independent School District board trustee Guillermo "Willie" Gandara Sr., the last defendant among 11 people charged in a 2010 public corruption indictment, has pleaded guilty.

Gandara's jury trial had been scheduled to start with jury selection this morning. Instead, defense attorneys and federal prosecutors spent most of the morning apparently in discussions over a plea agreement.

Gandara, 63, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on allegations he 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 the company, which sought to be the district's health-insurance provider.

After initially approving Access as the district's insurance provider, the board later rejected the vote and approved another 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 were 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 former SISD trustees Charlie Garcia and Raymundo "Ray" Rodriguez.

Federal

prosecutors had alleged Gandara 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.

On Friday, defense attorneys Joseph Vasquez and Jim Darnell filed a motion seeking copies of the presentencing reports for Apodaca, Schwartz, Rodriguez and Garcia, along with Bear Stearns representative Roberto "Bobby" Ruiz, local attorney Raymund Tellez, former First Southwest Co. vice president Hector Zavaleta, Jr., and El Paso lobbyist and political consultant Antonio "Tony" Dill.

Ruiz, Tellez and Dill have each pleaded guilty to public corruption charges in separate cases. Zavaleta has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

Pre-sentencing reports are compiled by federal probation officers and are used to determine a defendant's sentence.

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