Convicted Judge and Indicted DA are on Witness List in Texas Lawyer's Federal Racketeering Trial
A federal prosecutor says a former South Texas judge who has taken a plea in a bribery case could testify as early as Wednesday afternoon against a lawyer accused of paying him $11,000 in bribes for benefits, including an ad litem appointment and a favorable ruling on a sanctions motion.
An indicted district attorney, Armando Villalobos of Cameron County, is also on the witness list against lawyer Ray R. Marchan, along with former state District Judge Abel Corral Limas, the San Antonio Express News reports.
Marchan’s defense lawyer argued earlier that the Stanford University law graduate had loaned money to Limas rather than bribing him and said Marchan was a wealthy lawyer who didn’t need to pay a judge to get work. However, wiretap excerpts obtained by the government suggest Marchan was running through money in the midst of a bitter divorce, the newspaper recounts.
A previous ABAJournal.com post details the ongoing federal case revolving around Limas. Other lawyers have also have been accused in the case, but Marchan is the first to go to trial.
