For 2306's look at counties

Ten years for county commissioner who turned corruption 'into an art’

A top Maverick County official convicted in a widespread bribery scheme that bilked $1.3 million from the county described the effect of his crimes as he was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison.

“Every second, I just think of the damage I’ve done to my family and to my hometown,” said former County Commissioner Rudy Heredia, 56, who’s been in jail since his arrest in October 2012.

Federal Judge Alia Moses kicked off the sentencing Monday of 15 people who were convicted in an FBI investigation of corruption in nearby Eagle Pass. Heredia was one of five people sentenced Monday. Most of the others will face Moses today.

Heredia was at the center of a scheme to raid a multimillion-dollar grant fund from the Texas Department of Transportation to improve roads and drainage in the county’s poor, unincorporated colonias. In some cases, contractors inflated their bids and kicked back a portion of the profits to commissioners. Other times, they accepted payment for work that was never done.