RAFIDI CLEARS STATE HURDLE, FEDERAL SENTENCING JULY 11

By Juan Montoya

Attorneys for a Palestinian man who still faces sentencing on a federal charge July 11 cleared a hurdle to regain his freedom today when he pleaded guilty in state court of making a false entry into a governmental record in his application for a concealed handgun license.

George Rafidi was facing five counts, including another four of making false entries in his applications and renewals for auto sales licenses and a concealed weapon license, and his plea on the one count resulted in 197th state District Judge Adolfo Cordova dismissing the other four.

His attorney Reynaldo "Trey" Garza said he was sentenced to the time he had already served and would not be required to pay a fine.

"As I have said it all along, Mr. Rafidi is not, and has never been, a terrorist," Garza said. He has admitted to his wrongdoing and the state has shown leniency because they know he is not a danger to anyone. he was not happy to plead guilty to one count, but he did not want to drag it out any longer."

In agreeing to sentence him to time served, which is a little bit more than a year, the state reduced the charge from a second-degree felony to a misdemeanor sentence. The state also agreed to release 21 of 24 vehicles they had seized for forfeiture during a raid on his two car lots in April.

A state grand jury indicted Rafidi in April 24 and his two businesses - car dealerships in Laguna Vista and San Benito - and his home in Brownsville were raided the following day. Rafidi, however, was in jail awaiting trial on federal charges.

The initial federal indictment issued March 5, 2019 listed six counts of lying on his Lawful Permanent Resident application in 2007, noting that Rafidi had belonged to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and was jailed by an Israeli military tribunal after he was shot in the chest during a popular demonstration against Israeli occupation of the West Bank. He was charged in an Israaeli military ribunal wit waving prohibited banners and writing prohibited slogans."

He could have potentially received as much as 10 years in prison if convicted on the U.S. charges in federal court here.

Garza and federal prosecutors handling the case negotiated the plea bargain that whittled down the six counts in the original indictment to just one, his failure to declare $28,995 he was carrying when he crossed into Matamoros through the Gateway Bridge on April 18, 2018.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents detained and then released him after ascertaining that Rafidi - who owns a check-cashing service and the two used-car dealerships - had simply neglected to remove the money from the car before crossing into Mexico.

If the federal judge agrees with the Assistant U.S. Attorney and the federal probation officer who signed a plea bargain agreement packet with Rafifi and recommended "credit for Acceptance of Responsibility, sentencing at the low end of the guideline level Rafidi scores and dismissal of  the remaining  (five) counts," his sentence could be reduced to credit for time served.

However, Garza said that immigration authorities still have a detainer on his client that has to be resolved before Rafifi is a free man.