Webb County, Texas Commissioner Sentenced to 76 Months in Prison for Accepting Bribes in Exchange for Official Actions |
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Topics: Ford F-150
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Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
26 January 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Webb County, Texas Commissioner Sentenced to 76 Months in Prison for Accepting Bribes in Exchange for Official Actions
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.
Press Release Number:
15-101