Federal agents raid home, office of Starr County sheriff

September 5, 2008 - 6:41AM
The Monitor
STARR COUNTY - Federal agents raided the home and office of Starr County Sheriff Reymundo "Rey" Guerra Thursday, law enforcement officials confirmed.

Details of the FBI investigation remain murky and a local official with the agency refused to confirm the search of Guerra who was promoted to office in 1998 after his predecessor pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges.

Guerra did not respond to repeated calls for comment Thursday evening. Other officers in his department also refused to comment about the investigation.

It's not known if Guerra consented to the search or if the FBI had obtained a search warrant.

Guerra has worked for the county for close to 27 years, including more than 10 years as the sheriff.

Starr County Commissioners appointed Guerra to office in 1998 after a disgraced Sheriff Eugenio "Gene" Falcon resigned after pleading guilty to a bail bond kickback scheme. He was sentenced to two years in prison and now works for Starr County Judge Eloy Vera.

Earlier this week the FBI raided the McAllen home of the former mayor of Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Tamps., in another high profile raid as part of an ongoing drug trafficking investigation. There was no indication Thursday the raids were connected.

Raúl RodrÃ*guez Barrera who led the Mexican border town from 1999 to 2001, denied any involvement in drug smuggling earlier this week and said he cooperated with authorities because he had nothing to hide.


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