WAS LUGO'S SUICIDE TIED TO POLITIQUERAS INDICTMENT?

By Juan Montoya
The death by his own hand of Donna Independent School Board President Alfredo Lugo Wednesday morning has led to speculation that his death by hanging could have been directly tied to the recent indictment of two Hidalgo County politiqueras who told FBI agents that they had been recruited by candidates to pay people to vote.
So far, no details on the death have been released, but sources close to the family and the investigation have said that he had hung himself at his home where he was found Wednesday morning.
“A lot of people are missing him already," said Ruben “Ram” De Leon, Donna police chief.
On December 18, the FBI filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas charging Guadalupe Escamilla and
Rebecca Gonzalez under 42 US Code 1973(c) under the section penalizing someone who "pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or voting in a federal election..."
The two "politiqueras" were arrested after an FBI investigation determined they were paying voters money, food, and cigarettes for their votes.
The investigation alleges that the two worked as  "politiqueras" during the 2012 primary election and the general election.
During the general election, federal candidates were on the ballot, including candidates for state office and local positions.
Escamilla allegedly told an FBI agent that she was working for candidates running for school board in Donna.
According to the federal criminal complaint, Escamilla was being paid by two candidates to get people to vote for them. The complaint states that she was instructed by the candidates to pay any voter that asked to be paid for their vote. The document states that Escamilla paid the voters between $3 and $10 for their vote and gave some of them food and cigarettes.
Gonzalez told the FBI she worked as a "politiquera" for candidates who were running in the 2012 primary election and candidates who were up for seats on the school board in Donna,
She allegedly told agents she was paid $40 on multiple occasions for her work as a "politiquera" and paid other $5 to $10 for them to vote.
The two were said to have been active in the 2012 primary and the general election in November.
Lugo had been a DISD trustee for 16 years and won reelection in November 2012.