Charges have been dismissed against a third former Cameron County employee charged in “Operation Dirty Deeds,” and the other cases are soon to follow.
Court records indicate charges were dropped Tuesday against Omar Sanchez-Paz, who served as a dealer/notary supervisor at the Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office.
Sanchez-Paz was arrested in January with County Tax Assessor-Collector Tony Yzaguirre Jr., tax investigator Pedro Garza Jr. and Lt. Jose Mireles in “Operation Dirty Deeds.” Several employees had been accused of taking bribes and other charges.
Charges were dropped last week against Garza and Mireles.
Claudia Elisa Sanchez, charged with one count of tampering with government records, and Marisol Sifuentes, charged with one count of felonious breach of computer security, also will have their cases dismissed, said District Attorney Luis V. Saenz.
“We will remain focused on the main defendant (Yzaguirre) and continue to develop new information and evidence. After that, we will strive to hold accountable any employees who assisted in wrongdoing,” Saenz said.
Saenz said in similar situations in the past, going after the minor defendants first gave the main defendant the benefit of attending the trial to hear and see all the evidence against them.
As a result, they are able to prepare their defense accordingly.
“That’s the scenario we’re trying to avoid,” Saenz said.
A defense attorney will use the tools at his disposal to defend his client. The DA’s Office is doing the same thing, Saenz said.
“Nobody is getting off the hook. … I hope the people understand the DA represents them and tries to do the same thing, and that is using everything he can within the rules that allows him to present the strongest case on behalf of the people,” Saenz said.
Charges are pending against Yzaguirre.
