City officials indicted

McALLEN, Texas - The mayor pro-tem and city manager of Edcouch have both been taken into custody on public corruption charges, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Victor Hugo De La Cruz, 40, and Rene Flores, 60, both of Edcouch, are set to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker at 9 a.m. Sept. 13.

A federal grand jury returned the four-count indictment under seal Sept. 2 which was unsealed upon their arrests.

The indictment alleges that from June to September 2019, De La Cruz, mayor pro-tem, and Flores, city manager, solicited bribe payments from the owner of a Brownsville business that provides marketing services throughout the Rio Grande Valley. The business owner allegedly received two separate $3000 payments for marketing work he was allegedly performing for the city of Edcouch. In return, he made two $1000 kickback payments to Flores, according to the charges.

De la Cruz and Flores are charged with conspiracy, bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and use of a facility in interstate commerce in furtherance of bribery.

If convicted, they both face up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine on the bribery charge and five years for the conspiracy and use of a facility in interstate commerce.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert S. Johnson and K. Alejandra Andrade are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.