MCALLEN, Texas — A federal judge issued a light sentence to a border-region mailman who took bribes in exchange for helping to rig an election in South Texas.
On Friday, 44-year-old Noe Olvera went before U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez who sentenced him to 18 months in federal prison for taking bribes in exchange for helping rig an election in South Texas. Olvera could have been sentenced to a maximum sentence of 15-years in prison, but prosecutors asked for a lighter sentence as part of a plea deal.
As Breitbart Texas reported, Olvera pleaded guilty to taking money in exchange for providing names and addresses of mail ballot voters to Democrat get-out-the-vote operatives called “politiqueras”.
In October 2014, Olvera took $1,000 in exchange for names and addresses of residents in his postal route that received absentee ballots during the previous 2014 Democratic Primary. According to prosecutors, Olvera’s role was tied to the 2014 Hidalgo County Sheriff’s race.
The sheriff’s office was vacated in April 2014 when former Sheriff Guadalupe “Lupe” Treviño pleaded guilty to money laundering charges for having taken money from a Mexican drug lord living in South Texas. Trevino remains in federal prison.
In 2014, federal authorities charged various political activists for their role in using cocaine, marijuana, and beer to buy votes, Breitbart Texas reported.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.
Brandon Darby is managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Stephen K. Bannon. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.