Jury selection is scheduled to begin in January in the bribery and extortion trial of a Lyford man accused of offering to fix a transportation report for a company if the company paid him $3,500.
Patrick Gorena, 54, is out on a $40,000 personal recognizance bond, federal court documents reflect, following his appearance Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Yvonne Y. Hou, in a Houston federal courtroom
Gorena was employed with the U.S. Department of Transportation, as a border investigator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. He was based out of Weslaco.
According to the Nov. 2 federal indictment, in exchange for minimizing purported safety violations he encountered while auditing a trucking company, which would have exposed the company to potential fines and the loss of their DOT license, Gorena allegedly demanded a $3,500 payment, the FBI said in media release.
Listed in the indictment, are several text messages that were allegedly exchange between Gorena and an undercover officer.
The charges allege Gorena ultimately accepted a $2,000 bribe from an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a representative of the trucking company.
The bribery and extortion occurred sometime between July 20, 2022, and Aug. 12, 2022, according to the indictment.
Gorena’s pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Jan. 10. Jury selection is scheduled for Jan. 17.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 35 years in prison.
