Four more prominent El Pasoans plead guilty to public corruption

Four more defendants in the widespread public corruption scandal labeled Operation Poisoned Pawns by the FBI were in federal court Wednesday afternoon and pled guilty to giving or accepting bribes in an attempt to net millions of dollars in healthcare contracts with three local school districts and the El Paso County.

Those who pleaded guilty Wednesday include former County Commissioner Larry Medina, former Access HealthSource CEO Frank Apodaca, former County Judge Luther Jones and attorney David Escobar.

Jones is currently serving a six year sentence for other similar crimes and entered the courtroom with his feet shackled and wearing a green prison jumpsuit with blue prison issue tennis shoes.

Escobar had been scheduled to plead guilty July 19, but he didn’t. After Escobar entered his plea Wednesday, federal judge Frank Montalvo said he would have to examine the facts of the case and would decide at a later day whether he would accept the guilty plea.

All face a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000, although they are expected to face a much smaller sentence due to the plea deals.

The men are part of a group of 11 El Pasoans who turned themselves in to the FBI in September 2010 after they were indicted that same week on federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations or RICO charges.

The case centers around Access HealthSource and its contracts with El Paso County and three school districts from 1998-2007.

The school districts were El Paso Independent School District, Ysleta Independent School District, and Socorro Independent School District. The indictment states there was a pattern of racketeering mail fraud and wire fraud.

RICO indictments returned in September 2010:

Charges Frank Apodaca Jr and Marc Schwartz with two counts of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and deprivation of honest services, two counts of mail fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Charges Larry Medina with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and deprivation of honest services and one count of mail fraud.

Luther Jones, Gilbert Sanchez, David Escobar, Mickey Duntley, Ray Rodriguez with one count each of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

Charges Willie Gandara Sr. and Linda Chavez with one count each of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Former El Paso District Clerk Gilbert Sanchez, former Ysleta Independent School District trustee Milton “Mickey” Duntley, and former Socorro Independent School District trustee Raymundo “Ray” Rodriguez pleaded guilty last month.

Schwartz and former Ysleta Independent School District trustee Linda Chavez entered guilty pleas last month before Montalvo in connection with the El Paso corruption investigation focusing on the now-defunct ACCESS Health Source.

Schwartz pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in racketeering activity and faces eight years in federal prison under the plea agreements. According to discussions within Federal court last month, Schwartz’s plea is a binding agreement that will result in a 96 month sentence, or eight years.

Chavez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and deprivation of honest services and faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine, however, details of her adjusted plea have not yet been discussed.