ZAPATA OFFICIALS FACE BRIBE CHARGES

LAREDO -- Three Zapata County officials were arraigned in federal
court Wednesday, charged with taking bribes from drug traffickers in
exchange for protecting loads of marijuana that were hauled through
their area.

FBI agents Tuesday arrested Justice of the Peace Manuel "Meme"
Martinez, 43; county attorney's office investigator Jose Amaro, 40;
and county code enforcement worker Ruben Elizondo, 37.

Martinez was a Zapata County sheriff's deputy when he was accused of
taking money four times in late 2006 from a drug trafficker. He
received $5,000 for each 1,000 pounds of marijuana he protected,
according to the indictment, which a grand jury returned last week
and was unsealed Wednesday.

Amaro used his position within the South Texas Violent Crime Task
Force to leak sensitive law enforcement information, and Elizondo
worked as a lookout on some of the smuggling attempts, the court
document says.

"It is a sad day for the majority of good law enforcement officers
everywhere when greed overcomes a fellow officer's oath to support
and enforce the law," U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle said.
"Accountability will follow."

Martinez and Amaro face 10 counts that they extorted money from the
drug traffickers and conspired to smuggle and distribute 2 tons of marijuana.

If convicted, the men face up to life in prison and a $4 million fine.

A year ago, the deputy commander of the same task force was arrested
on the same charges. Julio Lopez pleaded guilty last year for
accepting more than $40,000 from drug traffickers.

Before being elected Justice of the Peace for a term starting in
January, Martinez was a sheriff's deputy for 11 years, Sheriff Sigi
Gonzalez said. Amaro was a deputy for nine years before leaving to
become an investigator for the county attorney.

The indictment details four instances when Martinez coordinated with
a narcotics trafficker, who was tipped off about which days the drug
task force was working, to protect 1,000-pound loads of marijuana
coming through Zapata County.

The men communicated in code, using phrases such as "are we going to
eat" or "I was able to get Freon" to signify whether a job was a go or not.

In some cases, Amaro would drive around the area to make sure law
enforcement wasn't around, the indictment states.

Elizondo was hired for some of the jobs to be a lookout as the loads
were moved, the document states.

"We have positions where we ask the public to trust us, and it's
just not right to violate that trust," Gonzalez said, adding that
his agency cooperated fully with the FBI.

Martinez, who at the time was the sole deputy assigned to monitor
illegal dumping, would file paperwork saying he was using an
unmarked vehicle to perform that duty.

Now, the sheriff has his doubts.

"Sometimes things like this fall through the cracks," he said.

The incident may affect the future of the task force, as state
funding for it ends Sept. 30, Gonzalez said. The sheriff is asking
for the task force to be assigned to his command, so that closer
tabs can be kept on it.