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McALLEN — An Edinburg politiquero pleaded not guilty to a bribery charge Tuesday for an alleged kickback scheme that involves two former Edinburg elected officials and a local businessman.
Miguel Angel Garza, 51, pleaded not guilty to a count of federal program bribery and a count of interstate travel in aid of racketeering, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.
The charges revolve around an alleged kickback scheme that ran from June 1, 2019 to about March 1, 2020, according to federal prosecutors.
As part of the alleged scheme, Garza reportedly helped the two former elected officials — listed as “Public Official A” and “Public Official B” in the indictment — accept bribes from the businessman, identified only as “Person 1” in the indictment.
At least one former elected official denied having any connections to the case Tuesday afternoon.
Person 1 allegedly paid the two public officials so that they would vote in favor of awarding a contract or contracts to businesses that he controlled.
Garza allegedly used a mobile phone, as well as wire and electronic communications, to help carry out the alleged scheme, which is why he was charged with a count of interstate travel in aid of racketeering, according to the indictment. There were three former elected officials who served on the city council through the entire period that the scheme allegedly took place — from June 1, 2019 to March 1, 2020. They include former Mayor Richard Molina and Councilmen Jorge Salinas and Gilbert Enriquez.
Enriquez was adamant that he was not one of the former elected officials referenced in the indictment.
“If you’re asking me directly if it’s me, if I’m any of the Public Official A or Public Official B — no, I’m not,” Enriquez said Tuesday.
Asked if he knew anything about the alleged contracts or deals with the city that Garza may have been involved in, Enriquez said he was mostly left in the dark.
“When I was there, they pretty much shut me up,” Enriquez said. “I couldn’t get any information. I was always left out in the cold. No information was provided to me; they did deals without any discussions.”
He added that during that time, city council meetings were sometimes held during lunch hours or on odd days of the week.
However, Enriquez said the indictment is a sign that Edinburg voters should really research who they elect into office.
He said those are the type of things that happen when Edinburg voters elect people who are not qualified.
“This is an indication of what happens when the electorate, the voters of Edinburg, don’t do the proper research and they elect individuals based on popularity and not qualifications,” Enriquez said. “I hope the voters of Edinburg wake up, smell the coffee, and make some changes because it’s not good for the taxpayer, it’s not good for the residents of Edinburg.”
Neither Molina nor Salinas returned requests for comment Tuesday.
Garza made his initial appearance in federal court Tuesday morning, but he had been the target of a federal investigation since at least February 2020.
On the morning of Feb. 24, 2020, FBI agents raided his home in the 700 block of Cano Street in Edinburg.
Garza also made an appearance in the voter fraud case against Molina, the former Edinburg mayor.
During a hearing in Molina’s case held in November, Garza testified that the FBI questioned him about Molina but denied he was cooperating with any possible FBI investigation into the former mayor, who is facing his own criminal charges for alleged organized voter fraud.
Garza was also previously arrested for DWI for which he is still under probation, a factor that was taken into consideration during his detention hearing on Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nadia S. Medrano.
Medrano ultimately went with the recommendation made by federal prosecutor Robert Laurence Guerra Jr. and set Garza’s bond at $100,000 with a $10,000 cash deposit.
Monitor staff writer Mark Reagan contributed to this report.
