Texas Sheriff Pleads Guilty

RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas (AP) _ During 17 years as a border-town sheriff, Eugenio ``Gene'' Falcon Jr. dodged many accusations, from punching a prosecutor to killing a man in Mexico.

Questions also swirled over how he could afford to buy a sprawling $90,000 home once owned by a drug kingpin _ on a salary of $18,000.

Last week, the law finally caught up to Falcon when he pleaded guilty to conspiracy in a bail bond kickback scheme.

Critics say it was a long time coming.

``This is an example of what should happen to corrupt politicians,'' said county resident David Jones.

Friends, though, brushed it off, saying he's been a good sheriff who made a mistake.

``No one is perfect in this world,'' said Laurentina Pina Luera, who has known Falcon since he was elected in 1981.

Falcon, 44, has deep roots in the community as the ninth generation of his family to live in the county. The son of a prominent teacher and rancher, he was first elected sheriff at age 28 after working as a state highway patrolman.

A large part of his success was simple charm, said Jerry Polinard, a political science professor at University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg and a longtime South Texan.

When they met a few years ago, Falcon gave Polinard a bag of onions off his pickup truck, and Polinard said the gesture struck him as genuine.

``He's simply the kind of person who you like when you meet,'' Polinard said.

Starr County is one of the country's most impoverished, and Rio Grande City _ the county seat with about 14,000 residents _ does indeed have some rundown shacks. But the heart of town looks like any other south Texas city with the requisite Wal-Mart, McDonald's and Dairy Queen, along with beautiful historic buildings and churches.

Rio Grande City is also a place where large houses rumored to belong to drug traffickers sit atop hills along one side of U.S. Highway 83.

Falcon bought one of those houses in 1985 from a couple that had purchased it from the wife of notorious drug kingpin Ramon Garcia Rodriguez.

Law enforcement immediately took notice, and Falcon's troubles began.

In 1986, Falcon was charged in Mexico with killing a man who allegedly witnessed a triple killing in Texas. A witness identified Falcon as one of the gunmen, but charges were eventually dismissed.

Six years later, a bail bondsman made the first accusations of corruption in how bond business was handled at the county jail. Octavio Castaneda sued Falcon, accusing him of allowing jail employees to direct business to family and friends.

In 1994, the two sides agreed to a settlement, but a year later, Castaneda accused Falcon of violating the settlement and took him back to court on contempt charges. A federal judge found in favor of Falcon.

Also in 1995, Falcon was indicted after a district attorney's investigator accused him of hitting him. The investigator later dropped the charges.

The facade of Falcon's invincibility, however, began to crack earlier this year when he, Justice of the Peace Adan Garcia and five jailers were indicted on federal charges of bribery and conspiracy.

Last week, six of the seven pleaded guilty, admitting they conspired to refer prisoners to bondsman Homero Arturo Longoria, who would pay them a ``referral fee'' once the bonds were posted.

If the inmates couldn't afford the bonds, Longoria would ask Garcia to reduce the amount and pay him a kickback. Longoria also has pleaded guilty and was expected to be a star witness in the case.

The only one not to plead, a jailer, is now on trial in Brownsville.

Falcon is free on bond and doesn't have to resign until he's sentenced May 26. He and the five others who pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy face a maximum of five years in prison.

Falcon did not return a message from The Associated Press for this story.

The Starr County scandal follows a series of high-profile cases in the Rio Grande Valley in the last few years.

In 1994, the Hidalgo County Sheriff and the chief jailer were convicted of accepting bribes to allow a drug trafficker to have conjugal visits in jail, while the Zapata County judge, county clerk and sheriff were convicted of drug trafficking and money laundering.

And since late last year, six former Rio Grande Valley police officers have pleaded guilty to taking payoffs from marijuana traffickers.

Which may be why some were surprised by Falcon's plea _ not because of the crimes, but that he finally confessed.

``For so many years, the people of Starr County have trusted him,'' said Castaneda, the bondsman. ``But the badge was just a way for him to make money, and everybody saw it.''

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