SAN ANTONIO – A former Reeves County judge accused of signing off on a deal for a jail contract in exchange for money has agreed to plead guilty to bribery and income tax charges.
Jimmy Galindo, 53, was the Reeves County judge from January 1995 through December 2006. Court documents said Galindo gave Vernon Farthing's company information that was not public about pricing to provide medical services to inmates in the Reeves County Correctional Center. Farthing's company won the contract, which was signed by Galindo in September 2006.
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Farthing's company is alleged to have hired state Sen. Carlos Uresti (D - Dist. 19) as a consultant, paying him $10,000 per month. Court documents said Uresti agreed to pay Galindo half the money he received. From September 2006 through December 2015, Galindo allegedly received $401,740.
Court documents allege Galindo has not filed income tax returns since 2004.
Galindo faces up to five years in federal prison for bribery and up to one year in federal prison for the tax charge.
Uresti and Farthing were indicted this week on charges of bribery and money laundering.
Uresti was also indicted on charges related to a Ponzi scheme. Uresti and two others -- Stanley Bates and Gary Cain -- are accused of taking money from investors for a company that sold fracking sand for oil production. The group is accused of telling those investors the company was profitable, but the indictment said they used money from newer investors to pay the earlier investors and cover their own personal expenses.
Galindo has not yet appeared before a federal judge on the charges. The details of his plea deal have not been released.
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