After being in office for only a few months Manuel J. Barraza, a state district judge in El Paso, TX, has been arrested by the FBI for soliciting cash bribes and sexual favors from criminal defendants, including an undercover agent, in exchange for favorable treatment in his court:
In November 2008, voters elected him as the first judge of Criminal District Court No. 1, created to primarily handle felony drug cases. "I think since I've grown up here, I know the people," Barraza said during an interview before his election. "When someone goes to court, they shouldn't be afraid of the judge. They should feel like they should be treated with courtesy, dignity and respect."
Yesterday's arrest was not the first for Barraza:
Thursday's arrest was not Barraza's first time in handcuffs, or the first time he faced a misconduct charge. He was arrested in 1983 on charges of bribing a deputy probation officer. He allegedly gave the officer $30 to influence a case. That charge against Barraza was dismissed for lack of evidence.
The border town El Paso is just 2 miles from Juarez, Mexico -- ground zero in the cartel drug wars -- and federal agents are all over the place. Local judges assigned to felony drug cases along the border from Texas to California should be on notice that they are being watched, and any corruption better stop.
Barraza's "indictment and arrest are not related to the FBI's larger ongoing public corruption investigation in El Paso" according to an agency spokesperson.
-----------------------
http://bitterqueen.typepad.com/friends_of_ours/2009/04/newly-elected-texas-judge-arrested.html
No comments:
Post a Comment