Updated: EPISD superintendent arrested on mail fraud, conspiracy and theft charges; see Garcia's contract

By Caylor Ballinger / El Paso Times
Posted: 08/01/2011 04:34:05 PM MDT

El Paso Independent School District Superintendent Lorenzo Garcia has been arrested on mail fraud, conspiracy and theft charges by the FBI, officials said today.

Garcia, 55, was arrested on one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, two counts of mail fraud and one count of aiding and abetting theft from programs receiving federal funds, stated the U.S. Attorney's Office.

He is being held without bond, according to the jail log. He is expected to appear before a U.S. magistrate judge on Tuesday.

The U.S. Attorney's Office alleged that Garcia and others conspired to steer a $450,000 contract via false pretenses between Feb. 1, 2006 and March 11, 2007.

Prosecutors alleged Garcia paid $5,000 to an unindicted co-conspirator with whom he had personal relationship. The co-conspirator entered a contract with the district and represented the value of the contract to be $400,000 to $500,000 more than its actual value.

Garcia, in an effort to eliminate competition for the contract, worked with a lawyer to set up a template for the contract.

In June 2006, Garcia submitted a letter to the district claiming the co-conspirator's company was the only source of the products and services the vendor was offering EPISD.

In August 2006, the co-conspirator received two checks of $180,000 each.

"The indictment alleges that Garcia failed to disclose to the Board of Trustees his personal relationship to the (co-conspirator) as well as his personal financial interest in the vendor company," stated the U.S. Attorney's Office.

If convicted, Garcia faces up to 20 years in prison for each mail fraud and 10 years for the theft charge and a fine of up to $250,000.

"Today's charges demonstrate the FBI's unflinching commitment to the citizens of El Paso that we will vigorously investigate allegations of public corruption regarding elected or appointed public officials," said David Cuthbertson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in El Paso.

"The citizens of this community deserve to have a sense of confidence that their tax dollars are being spent efficiently for the public good and not for the private enrichment of a select few," Cuthbertson said in a statement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Kanof is prosecuting the case.

Other arrests are expected, officials said.

Sources told the El Paso Times that Garcia was arrested at the district's headquarters around 1:05 p.m. He was taken to the FBI headquarters on North Mesa Hills where he spent about 15 minutes before being taken to the El Paso County jail. At of 3:18 p.m., Garcia was still officially booked at the Downtown jail on a mail fraud charge.

Meanwhile, the EPISD board of trustees is meeting in the board room at 4:30 p.m. today regarding Garcia's arrest.

A statement released by the district said, "We are not privy to any details right now."

District officials have also scheduled a news conference for later today. Also, the district has hired a separate lawyer to represent the district in the investigation. The lawyer does not represent Garcia, and was hired around the time the FBI and Department of Education launched its investigation in December.

Garcia has been EPISD superintendent since 2006. Since that time, several law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, have conducted investigations that looked into the district.

Two former school board trustees, Sal Mena and Carlos Cordova, have pleaded guilty to public corruption charges and a former employee at the district, Fernando Parra, has also pleaded guilty to charges.

Cordova pleaded guilty to one count in November 2007, admitting he exchanged his vote for money. He has been released on $10,000 bond and has not been sentenced.

Mena was arrested in August 2008 and was charged with six counts of accepting bribes and bribing others in a scheme involving the awarding of multimillion-dollar contracts to district vendors. Mena has pleaded guilty and is free on bond. He has not been sentenced.

Parra, a politically connected computer technician who worked for the county and EPISD, pleaded guilty in July 2008 to one count of taking and receiving obscene pornographic videos and to one count of conspiring with others to bribe members of the El Paso County Commissioners Court.

He was released on $10,000 bond and has not been sentenced.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_18595063