An elected county commissioner for Precinct 1 of the Webb
County Commissioners Court in Texas was sentenced today to 76 months in prison
for accepting bribes in exchange for official actions.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice
Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs of
the FBI’s San Antonio Division made the announcement. U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo
of the Southern District of Texas imposed the sentence.
Kristopher Michael Montemayor, 37, of Laredo, Texas, pleaded
guilty to one count of federal programs bribery on June 19, 2014. In addition to the prison sentence, he was
ordered to pay a fine of $109,405.72 and to forfeit $13,721.16.
In his plea agreement, Montemayor admitted that he solicited
and accepted multiple bribes in exchange for promising to perform official
acts. Specifically, Montemayor admitted
that he accepted three separate bribe payments totaling $11,000 and over $2,700
in electronics and other merchandise, including two Apple iPads and two pairs
of Dr. Dre Beats Solo HD headphones, from a businessman who, unbeknownst to
Montemayor, was an undercover law enforcement agent. In exchange for the cash and the other items,
Montemayor promised to take various forms of official action to promote the
business interests of the undercover agent.
Montemayor also admitted to accepting a 2012 Ford F-150
pick-up truck, worth approximately $37,000, in exchange for providing
government jobs to the vehicle owner and his spouse. As a result of these appointments, the
vehicle owner and his wife received salaries of $26,000 and $45,553 from Webb
County. Montemayor admitted that the
vehicle owner performed little or no work in exchange for his government
salary.
The case was investigated by the Laredo Resident Agency of
the FBI’s San Antonio Division. The case
was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Emily Rae Woods and Mark J. Cipolletti of the
Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
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