SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Independent School District board trustee Olga Hernandez resigned her position on the board Tuesday, just days after being arrested on federal charges in connection with a bribery and kickback scheme.
Speaking before the rest of the school board, Hernandez said, “These past few days and weeks have been a very personal and challenging experience for me. Quite frankly, it has been a nightmare that my family and I have had to go through together."
Hernandez, 66, is accused of accepting cash, jewelry, and travel from people working for a school district insurance carrier and a paid independent insurance consultant in return for her influence on the district's board of trustees and her vote on numerous insurance services contracts awarded to the companies with whom the co-conspirators had a financial interest.
SAISD Board trustee Olga Hernandez arrested in bribery, kickback scheme
Hernandez denied the allegations and said, “The challenge before me is a process of a legal nature and a web of legal entanglements that will require my full attention.”
She also asked for the board to appoint someone to fill her position, citing the costs of a special election.
The scheme went on from March 2008 to May 2015, federal officials said. Hernandez told the board she would not answer any questions about the charges against her, saying it was the advice of her counsel.
If Hernandez is found guilty on the charges, she could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
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