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McALLEN — Miguel “Mike” Angel Garza, a former Edinburg politiquero, has pleaded guilty to bribing public officials.
Garza pleaded guilty in McAllen federal court Monday to one of the two counts against him.
With his plea, Garza admitted to paying bribes to two public officials identified in court documents only as “Public Official A” and “Public Official B” using money from a business person identified solely as “Person 1.”
Garza served as an intermediary between the two public officials and Person 1, according to Justice Department prosecutor, Arthur “Rob” Jones, deputy criminal chief for national security and public corruption for the Southern District of Texas.
Garza facilitated the bribe payments to the two public officials so they would steer the city of Edinburg into awarding contracts “to a business controlled by Person 1,” Jones said as he read from a statement of facts Monday.
“I plead guilty,” Garza said after being informed one final time of his right to a trial.
Garza also agreed to forfeit $47,235 he gained during the kickback scheme, which ran from June 1, 2019 through March 1, 2020.
However, he declined to comment to The Monitor after the hearing. His attorney, Rolando David Cantu, did not return a message seeking comment.
The two public officials whom Garza admitted to bribing are not named in the indictment, nor did federal prosecutors reveal their identities during the rearraignment hearing.
The indictment describes them as elected officials with the power to “vote on whether the City of Edinburg, Texas would award contracts and work agreements to Person 1’s business,” including modifying or ending any existing work agreements.
Garza was for years a well-known political operative within the city of Edinburg.
In the four years prior to his indictment, Garza served as a paid participant of four political campaigns, including:
>> Hidalgo County Precinct 4 Commissioner Ellie Torres
>> Ruben Ramirez, an attorney who last spring sought the Democratic nomination for Texas 15th Congressional District
>> former Edinburg Mayor Richard Molina
>> former Edinburg Councilman Jorge “Coach” Salinas.
The two public officials whom Garza admitted to bribing are not named in the indictment, nor did federal prosecutors reveal their identities during the rearraignment hearing.
Garza’s work as a “contract laborer” or consultant on some of those campaigns continued even after the FBI raided his home on Feb. 24, 2020, according to Monitor archives.
Aside from assisting in political campaigns, Garza also served as a consultant for businesses looking for introductions with local government entities.
“He was, shall we say, consulting on behalf of three businesses with ties to the city of Edinburg and all three of those businesses were paying him — either biweekly or monthly — thousands of dollars annually in order to pay him for his service,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert L. Guerra Jr. said during Garza’s arraignment last May.
But the prosecutor also noted that working as a consultant is not, in itself, illegal.
“He was employed as a consultant with being able to connect people with businesses to public officials so that pitches could be made, and that’s not illegal. And during that period of time, he was receiving significant amounts of money for his consultation and his access to individuals throughout the Valley,” Guerra said.
After listening to the statement of facts, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo asked Garza if it had been accurate, noting that she had seen him shaking his head “no” while Jones had read it.
Garza had been “nodding with the reality” of his guilty plea, Cantu, his attorney said.
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Under scrutiny: Edinburg politiquero’s indictment raises questions about campaign ties
