Federal Grand Jury Indicts Maverick County Commissioner Rodolfo Bainet Heredia in Connection with a Bribery, Kickback, and Bid-Rigging Scheme

In Del Rio this morning, a federal grand jury indicted Maverick County Precinct Two Commissioner Rodolfo Bainet Heredia, age 54, of Eagle Pass, Texas, in connection with an alleged bribery, kickback, and bid-rigging scheme, announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and FBI Special Agent in Charge Armando Fernandez.
The federal grand jury indictment charges Heredia with six counts of receiving a bribe and one count of paying a bribe to an agent of an organization receiving federal funds. The indictment alleges that in 2010 and 2011, Heredia manipulated the bidding process to guarantee that contractors he chose would be awarded Maverick County construction contracts. Those contractors deposited the checks issued to them by Maverick County and then made cash payments to Heredia. According to the indictment, the private contractors submitted inflated bids to Maverick County in order to ensure the availability of sufficient funds to perform the construction work, make a profit, and also to pay the bribe to Heredia. The indictment further alleges that Heredia gave benefits to a county employee to guarantee that checks were issued to the contractors involved in this scheme.
Upon conviction, Heredia faces up to 10 years in federal prison on each count. Heredia remains in custody following his arrest in October of last year on federal money laundering and bulk cash smuggling charges. A trial on those charges is scheduled for April 16, 2013. No court dates have been scheduled in connection with today’s indictment.
This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Individuals who have first-hand information about corruption, fraud, or bribery related to Maverick County are urged to contact the FBI at (210) 225-6741.
Assistant United States Attorney Michael Galdo 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 defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Former President Pro Term of Oklahoma Senate Sentenced to Serve Five Years’ Probation for Bribery

OKLAHOMA CITY—Former Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tem Michael Steven Morgan, 57, of Stillwater, Oklahoma, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Robin J. Cauthron to serve five years’ probation for bribery, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.
“While this was not the sentence for which we advocated, the determination of sentencing in federal court is within the discretion of the Judge,” said U.S. Attorney Coats. “This is one of the most significant public corruption cases in this district in decades. Both the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI remain committed as ever to the pursuit of public corruption cases and holding accountable any public officials who abuse their positions for personal gain. I commend the Assistant United States Attorneys and FBI special agents for their extraordinary work in this long and complex investigation and prosecution.”
The government alleged three different schemes. On March 5, 2012, the federal jury found Morgan guilty of bribery on one scheme, acquitted him on one scheme, and could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third scheme. According to evidence at trial on the scheme in which he was convicted, Morgan, an attorney, accepted payments from a business that owned assisted-living centers, disguised as legal fees, in exchange for favorable treatment in the legislature. Evidence at trial showed that Morgan took 12 $1,000 bribe payments in 2006 and 2007, disguised as legal fees, from Silver Oak Senior Living Center. Evidence showed that Silver Oak had been at odds with the Oklahoma Department of Health, which was attempting to impose regulations on assisted-living facilities. In exchange for the bribe payments, evidence showed that Morgan authored Senate Bill 738, which became law at the end of the 2007 session and helped Silver Oak by lifting some of its regulatory burdens.
In addition to serving five years of probation, Morgan was ordered to forfeit $12,000.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott E. Williams and Vicki Zemp Behenna.

Former Superintendent of Toms River Regional School District and Insurance Broker Ordered to Pay $4.3 Million in Restitution

TRENTON—Michael J. Ritacco, the former superintendent for the Toms River, New Jersey, Regional School District, and Francis X. Gartland, the former insurance broker for the Toms River Regional School District, have been ordered to pay $4,336,987.91 in restitution to the school district, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Frank D’Alonzo, the former supervisor of Athletics and Special Projects for the School District, was ordered to pay $1,625,952.79 in restitution.
Ritacco, 64, of Seaside Heights, New Jersey; Gartland, 71, of Baltimore, Maryland; and D’Alonzo, 55, of Lavallette, New Jersey, all previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano in Trenton federal court to charges relating to a bribery and kickback scheme involving themselves and other conspirators, including Frank Cotroneo.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
The bribery and kickback scheme spanned 2002 to 2010, during which time Ritacco accepted $1 million to $2 million in bribes and other benefits from the conspirators in return for Ritacco’s official action and influence in order for Gartland to obtain and maintain insurance contracts at the school district. Ritacco and Gartland were each sentenced to 135 months in prison and D’Alonzo was sentenced to 37 months in prison.
As part of their plea agreements, Ritacco, Gartland, and D’Alonzo agreed to make restitution. Following a hearing on December 12, 2012, Judge Pisano yesterday issued an opinion in which the court concluded that the school district was “unquestionably” the victim of the defendants bribery and kickback scheme and determined the loss from the fraud scheme was $4,336,987.91. The loss consisted of excess money the district paid to Gartland and his entities, which were then passed to Ritacco as bribes, derived from the district’s health insurance coverage and worker’s compensation program. Ritacco and Gartland were ordered to pay the full amount of the school district’s loss, jointly and severally, while D’Alonzo was ordered to pay a portion of the loss consistent with the years in which he was involved actively in the criminal scheme.
In addition to ordering restitution, the court also ordered that Gartland forfeit to the United States a sum of $11 million, which represented all proceeds derived from the fraudulent scheme. D’Alonzo also was ordered to forfeit a sum of $4.3 million, which represented the proceeds derived from the scheme while he was an active participant. Prior to his sentencing on September 14, 2012, Ritacco forfeited to the United States $1 million, a 2010 Mercedes Benz, and $8,950 in cash.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward; and IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen, for the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dustin Chao, Harvey Bartle, and Lee M. Cortes, Jr. of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division.