Former San Antonio City Employee Indicted By Federal Grand Jury In Connection With A Bribery/Money Laundering Scheme

A federal grand jury in San Antonio has returned an indictment charging a former City of San Antonio employee in connection with a bribery scheme announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and FBI Special Agent in Charge Armando Fernandez.

The three-count indictment, returned late yesterday, charges 49-year-old Oscar Gilberto Rodriguez of San Antonio with one count of paying a bribe concerning a program receiving federal funds and 35-year-old Irene Avina Morales of San Antonio with one count of receiving a bribe concerning a program receiving federal funds and one count of money laundering.

According to the indictment, between June 2008 and August 2009, Rodriguez paid Morales, an employee in the city’s Neighborhood Service Department $5,100 in an effort to secure a $26,040 contract with the city to clean up a lot on Maridel Avenue.  The indictment further alleges that in September 2008, Morales conducted a financial transaction designed to conceal and disguise the nature of the bribe money.

Upon conviction, the defendants face up to 10 years imprisonment on the bribery related count.  Morales is also subject to a maximum 20 years in federal prison upon conviction of the money laundering count.

This indictment resulted from an investigation conducted by the agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney James Blankinship is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.

An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.