The Hidalgo County District Attorney’s has moved to dismiss illegal voting charges against a key witness in the former Edinburg mayor’s voter fraud trial. A judge signed off on the move Friday, Sept. 30.
Julio Carranza, Richard Molina’s former business partner, had been charged with engaging in organized election fraud and two counts of illegal voting.
He accused Molina, who has since been vindicated after a jury found him not guilty of one count of engaging in organized voter fraud and 11 counts of illegal voting, of pressuring him to ask his employees to change their addresses so they could vote for the former mayor in the 2017 Edinburg election.
While on the stand, one of Molina’s attorneys, Carlos A. Garcia, asked Carranza whether he would have committed a crime at the former mayor’s request, to which Carranza said that he would, depending on the crime.
Under Garcia’s questioning, Carranza said he wouldn’t commit a beer run or rob a store, but said that he would commit voter fraud.
Carranza also claimed that he asked Molina if what they were doing was illegal and alleged that Molina told him, “You’re not going to get caught. Everybody does it.”
The trial also featured testimony from Carranza’s employees who claimed they voted illegally.
Garcia also made a point of noting during his cross examination of Carranza that he was facing criminal charges and indicated that his testimony was an effort to appease prosecutors.
Molina maintained his innocence since his arrest, claiming the charges were in retaliation for upsetting the political establishment.
The former mayor also took the stand during his trial and testified that he did not know what he was doing was a crime.
His attorneys used a “mistake of law” defense, meaning Molina made a reasonable mistake based on government sources that led him to believe his actions were legal.
While Molina was acquitted and Carranza’s charges were dismissed, more than a dozen people still face charges, including the former mayor’s wife, Dalia.
She has pleaded not guilty to a charge of engaging in organized election fraud and two counts of illegal voting and is scheduled for a hearing Friday morning.
The remaining defendants are all charged with a count of illegal voting and are scheduled for hearings in November.
