Peñitas mayor pleads not guilty to bribery, fraud charges

Rodrigo Lopez

Peñitas Mayor Rodrigo “Rigo” Lopez pleaded not guilty to bribery and fraud charges in federal court Tuesday morning, a day after his arrest by federal authorities.

Lopez entered his not guilty plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nadia S. Medrano who granted him a $50,000 unsecured bond.

Medrano also set conditions for his pre-trial release, including that he surrender any passport, limit his travel to the Southern District of Texas, and have no contact with co-defendants and/or witnesses.

Lopez is accused of bribing a La Joya Independent School District employee for the approval of about $70,010 worth of purchases from Xizaka, LLC, a company that Lopez owned, from March 2018 through August 2018.

He also allegedly helped the school district employee fraudulently obtain and misapply the school district funds to pay the invoices Xizaka, LLC submitted.

Federal authorities arrested Lopez, 38, as he re-entered the country on Monday, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

When reached for comment, the FBI confirmed their presence in the vicinity of the Hidalgo Port of Entry, “conducting a court-authorized law enforcement activity.”

Lopez is just one of the latest officials from western Hidalgo County to face federal charges this year stemming from allegations of public corruption. However, unlike Lopez, many of those individuals have pleaded guilty to the charges.

Those officials include two La Joya school board trustees, the Peñitas city manager, and a Peñitas city councilman. All have left their positions since their guilty plea.

The Peñitas city commission is expected to meet next week to discuss how the city will move forward following the mayor’s arrest.

“Right now, we haven’t decided anything yet,” City Councilman Ramiro Loya said, though he declined to provide more details.

“We have to sit down and talk about what’s … coming for Peñitas,” Loya said. “So right now, after we sit down and talk about the situation we’re in right now you can call me or call the city manager, but right now I have no comments.”

City Council Jose R. Flores said he wished Lopez well amid his legal troubles.

“(I) just wish him well and our prayers are with him and his family,” Flores said.

“We know that everybody’s innocent until proven otherwise and we just want to respect their privacy and the city’s got to move forward and … let the legal system do what it’s supposed to do,” he said.

As for whether Lopez will retain his position as mayor, Flores said that was entirely up to Lopez.

“Ultimately, it’s going to be his decision as far as if he’s going to leave his position,” Flores said. “But as far as the city, like I said, we gotta move forward.”

A final pretrial conference is tentatively scheduled for July 26 and jury selection is tentatively set for August 2.

If found guilty, Lopez faces up to 10 years in prison for each count.