EDINBURG — State District Judge Rodolfo “Rudy” Delgado was arrested Friday amid an apparent FBI investigation, his attorney Al Alvarez indicated.
Dozens of FBI agents descended on the offices of Delgado’s 93rd state District Court and his home in Edinburg about 4 p.m. Friday.
Assisted by Texas Rangers and Hidalgo County Sheriff’s deputies, the agents could be seen removing plastic bins from his home near the intersection of Schunior Street and Depot Road.
It’s unclear if agents removed anything from his office at the Hidalgo County courthouse. Courthouse officials blocked access to the facility’s second floor, where Delgado’s court office is located.
FBI spokeswoman Michelle Lee confirmed agents were conducting law enforcement activity at the courthouse and said one person had been arrested.
“We are only confirming that an arrest has been made and not releasing additional details,” Lee said.
However Alvarez, who said he will be representing Delgado, insinuated the judge had been arrested.
“Well, I think that’s pretty obvious,” Alvarez said when asked if the judge had been taken into custody.
Delgado could not be reached for comment Friday evening, and his wife declined to comment.
District Attorney Ricardo Rodriguez said Friday night he could not “officially confirm” that Delgado has been arrested. He said he had been made aware of the federal agents’ presence at the courthouse through local news reports.
For months, rumors of a state judge facing a federal indictment had swirled around the courthouse’s hallways and throughout the county.
Alvarez visited Delgado’s home Friday evening, where more than a dozen law enforcement vehicles could be seen from the roadway.
Delgado is currently running for a place on the 13th Court of Appeals, and multiple sources close to the investigation said the judge was detained at the Falfurrias checkpoint while on his way to a campaign event outside the Rio Grande Valley.
U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, said all statewide candidates and those vying for a place on the 13th Court of Appeals had been invited to attend an event in Goliad Friday night.
The event, dubbed “Turn Our Counties From Red to Blue,” was held at the Goliad Brewing Company on Friday evening.
Delgado has had a problematic career since he was elected in 2001. In 2002, he nearly lost his job following a DWI arrest in Edinburg. In 2005, the charges were dropped, but Delgado was re-indicted on evading arrest and misuse of information charges later that year.
He’s also had his share of tragedies during his tenure. In February 2017, Delgado’s son, former Hidalgo County Assistant District Attorney Ricco Diaman Delgado, was found dead in an Austin creek. Before his death, the judge’s son had several run-ins with law enforcement as well.
In 2007, another one of Delgado’s sons, Roman David Delgado, died in a car crash in McAllen at the age of 16.
Staff writers Molly Smith, Cristina M. Garcia, Berenice Garcia and J. Edward Moreno contributed to this report.
