Ex-judge receives 5-year prison sentence for bribery scheme
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A former Texas judge who was found guilty in July of accepting cash bribes in exchange for favorable court rulings has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Former Hidalgo County District Judge Rodolfo “Rudy” Delgado received the sentence Wednesday, more than two months after he was convicted on charges of conspiracy, bribery and obstruction of justice and nearly 18 months after FBI agents raided his courthouse in connection with the bribery investigation, according to the Brownsville Herald.
Courthouse News Service, CBS, Fox News and Law.com also have coverage.
Courthouse News Service reports that Judge Alfred H. Bennett of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas said before sentencing Delgado that “it tears at the very fabric of our society.”
“It gives air and weight to the people who look upon the court in suspicion that it does matter who you know and that justice can be purchased,” he said.
Delgado was also ordered to serve two years of supervised release after prison, participate in alcohol and drug abuse and mental health programs, and pay $800 in special assessment fees to the court.
Bennett sentenced Delgado the same day that he sentenced Noe Perez—a criminal defense lawyer who became a government informant—for his role in the scheme that led to the investigation.
Perez pleaded guilty in May to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and was sentenced to two years in prison, the Monitor reports.
He agreed to cooperate with the government in 2016 after being confronted by FBI agents, telling them that he went to Delgado’s home under the guise of buying firewood and also gave the judge money hidden in six packs of beer.
In one of four recorded meetings between Perez and Delgado in 2018, the lawyer gave the judge a half-inch to inch-thick white envelope filled with $5,500 in cash. After Delgado learned of the investigation, he sent a text to Perez asking him to provide the money in check form as a campaign contribution.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Delgado accepted between $520 and $5,500 in bribes, CBS reports.
Delgado was elected to Texas’ 13th Court of Appeals but suspended hours after he was sworn into office in January.
