November 28, 2007
November 28, 2007
LOCAL MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN EL PASO PUBLIC CORRUPTION PROBE
United States Attorney Johnny Sutton announced that Carlos Villa Cordova, aka Coach Cordova, pled guilty today before United States District Judge Frank Montalvo to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and the deprivation of honest services.
By pleading guilty, Cordova admitted that he and others conspired to defraud the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) of the right to the honest services of the defendant, an elected EPISD Trustee, in the affairs of the EPISD.
As part of the fraud, he conspired with others to obtain
money and property by false and fraudulent pretenses violating his fiduciary duty as an elected EPISD Trustee and received cash money in exchange for his support and vote in his official capacity as an EPISD Trustee for agreements between EPISD and a vendor seeking business with the EPISD.
This case is an ongoing investigation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted for the government by Assistant United States Attorney Debra Kanof.
EPISD Statements regarding Carlos Cordova
Statement from Superintendent Dr. Lorenzo Garcia on news of former Trustee guilty plea The El Paso Independent School District employs more than 9,000 employees and has 92 schools. We are saddened but we are also encouraged because we know that we have dedicated teachers, employees, parents and students. Our resolve to provide the best public education remains firm and unshaken and we will continue to focus on academic excellence and providing the resources needed to help our students succeed. Our community is poised for unprecedented growth and we stand ready to serve and make El Paso proud.
Statement from David Dodge, President of the EPISD Board of Trustees Employees and staff of the El Paso Independent School District are deeply saddened to learn of the guilty plea from Carlos Cordova who recently resigned from the Board of Trustees for health reasons.
The Board of Trustees is elected by the people, serving our District voluntarily.
The District has procedures and controls in place to help prevent unlawful acts. We will continue to work closely with law enforcement to ascertain how this crime occurred and to determine how we can strengthen our system for the future.