Ernie Hernandez, a county commissioner in Cameron County, Texas, pled guilty to a corruption charge connected to an illegal gambling operation. Local law enforcement officials expect Hernandez to resign shortly thereafter.
In January 2014, the commissioner was accused of protecting an illegal gambling ring in his area among other corruption-related charges, according to court documents obtained by Breitbart Texas.
In return for Hernandez’s resignation, prosecutors allegedly agreed to drop all but one of the counts against him, according to the Associated Press.
An indictment obtained by Breitbart Texas claims that Hernandez was initially charged with abuse of official capacity, misuse of official information, witness tampering, tampering with a government record, obstruction or retaliation, and coercion by a public official.
Coercion by a public official is the only count that he currently faces.
The indictment further states that Hernandez attempted to get his brother-in-law a job for which he was not qualified.
The court document accused Hernandez of “tampering with government records, by soliciting, encouraging, directing, aiding, and attempting to aid Cameron Vera to sit down and take the Cameron County Civil Service Exam in the name of Roberto Cadriel.”
Hernandez’s bond was reduced from $75,000 to $35,000 on April 24, according to ValleyCentral.com. His assistant, Raul Salazar, was reportedly sentenced to 10 months in jail for assisting in the corrupt acts.
Ernie Hernandez Indictment by BreitbartTexas
Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate
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