Texas Border Judge Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Bribery

MCALLEN, Texas – A Texas judge from a border county will spend five years in prison for a series of bribery and conspiracy charges in a pay-to-play scheme where a local attorney bought favorable rulings. Earlier this year, the judge ran for a higher office and won, yet had to vacate the seat after trial.

At the federal courthouse in McAllen, Rodolfo “Rudy” Delgado, the former judge of the 93^rd Texas State District, went before U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett who sentenced him to 60 months in prison for conspiracy, bribery, and obstruction of justice. A jury handed down a guilty verdict in July.

Breitbart Texas first reported on Delgado in February 2018 following his arrest by the FBI. At the time, Delgado was the 93^rd State District Judge. Delgado then ran for a higher office and became a justice-elect with the 13^th District Court of Appeals. He was forced to vacate the position after his conviction. He also faces disbarment. Federal authorities investigated Delgado for at least a year using wires, recording devices, and confidential informants.

One of the informants was a local attorney named Noe Perez, who confessed to bribing Delgado. Perez later worked with federal agents to set a meeting with Delgado for a payoff. The attorney gave $5,200 to have a client released on bond. Perez was sentenced to two years in prison for his prior involvement in the scheme.

During Delgado’s trial in July, it was revealed that investigators were forced to rush the development of the case after rumors began to spread. Court documents filed before the sentencing hearing revealed that authorities were looking at two other attorneys, but the case closed.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.