LAREDO PROSECUTOR'S CORRUPTION TRIAL BEGINS

LAREDO, Texas -- The corruption trial of prosecutor Ramon Villafranca,
accused of taking bribes from drug defendants, started Monday.

Villafranca's trial is expected to last more than three weeks and involve
more than 100 secretly-recorded audiotapes. The case is the culmination of
a two-year investigation into corruption in the 49th Judicial District
Attorney's office for Webb and Zapata counties.

Villafranca, 58, is accused of taking bribes from at least three drug
defendants in exchange for promises of reduced or dismissed sentences. He
denies doing anything wrong.

Ruben Garcia, a former state district judge who was working as a private
attorney at the time, has pleaded guilty to related extortion charges and
is cooperating with investigators. Two others have also pleaded guilty to
case-fixing related charges, including Roy McCoy, a Tennessee man who
allegedly paid Garcia and Villafranca $8,000 to have drug charges against
him dropped.

The federal investigation first came to public attention in May, when FBI
and Internal Revenue Service agents raided the office of District Attorney
Joe Rubio, hauling away thousands of files in a rented truck. Despite much
speculation, Villafranca was the only prosecutor indicted for corruption.

A jury was picked on Monday, and opening statement were scheduled for later
in the day.

U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle, the chief prosecutor in the case, is
expected to introduce more than 100 audiotapes containing secretly-recorded
conversations between Villafranca and others.

"You're talking about a massive amount of evidence," Octavio Salinas, one
of three attorneys defending Villafranca, told the Laredo Morning Times.

Garcia is expected to testify in the trial along with Jesse James Salas, a
government informant who represented himself as a freelance bounty hunter
and karate instructor. McCoy is another potential witness.

Villafranca, a former middle school principal and teacher of special
education students, has maintained his innocence. He currently is assigned
to administrative duties at the district attorney's office pending outcome
of the trial.