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Three Rio Grande City men were sentenced to prison Tuesday morning on charges of bribing public officials and witnesses, court records show.
Former U.S. Department of Agriculture employee Roberto Rodriguez and USDA contractors Jose Sandoval and Daniel Jesus Diaz pleaded guilty on May 17.
Rodriguez was sentenced to over a year in prison while Sandoval and Diaz received six and eight months, respectively.
All three were also sentenced to three years of supervised release following their prison sentences, according to court documents.
According to the initial news release, Rodriguez was a rural development loan specialist and from January 2021 through August 2023 Rodriguez accepted bribes from Sandoval and Diaz.
“In return, Rodriguez allegedly referred applicants of the USDA 504 Single Family Housing Repair Grant and Loan program to the contractors,” the release stated.
After receiving the bribes, Rodriguez influenced acts after federally funded repairs were contracted.
Court documents state that the defendants will be allowed to self surrender to the U.S. Marshals by Aug. 30.
