COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TAP SEPULVEDA DESPITE PREVIOUS PLEA; WILL SERVE AS INTERIM COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR

By Juan Montoya

After spending "thousands of dollars" in an investigation, the indictment and the prosecution by the Cameron County District Attorney's Office of former Cameron County Judge Pete Sepulveda that resulted in his admitting to charges of abuse of official capacity, theft by a public servant and misapplication of fiduciary property as part of a pre-trial diversion plea, a unanimous commissioners court hired him as interim county administrator Tuesday.

That has sent waves of astonishment through county government with some county workers wondering what kind of message his hiring sent to the public.

Cameron County DA's Office declined to comment on the matter.

"Here's a guy who admitted as part of his plea that he had committed those illegal acts getting rehired by the county," said a former county official. "It may not be illegal to hire him again in that position, but the ethics are highly questionable."

As administrator Sepulveda wields a huge influence on the county's budget, its personnel and its assets. In that position, he will direct the county's employees, oversee the departments, and control the purse strings.

Some wonder whether the commissioners court had placed convenience at a cost of setting a bad precedent in the hiring of Sepulveda as interim county administrator.

"I wouldn't have doe it," said a county administrator. "But you didn't hear it from me."

In 2017, Sepulveda entered a pretrial diversion program for one year after a grand jury indicted him in 2016 on the charges. At that time of his indictment he was the executive director of the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority and commanding a $200,000-plus salary.

The DA's Public Integrity Unit had accused Sepulveda of using county materials and employees to pave a private road in San Benito when he was still county judge. As a condition of the pretrial diversion, Sepulveda agreed to reimburse the county for the materials, equipment and labor used to pave the road.

Under the program, after making restitution and reporting to the probation department for a year without any further violations, the case was dismissed.

Former county administrator David Garcia’s abruptly resigned June 25. In his resignation letter, Garcia, who provided state's evidence against Sepulveda during his prosecution, did not mention the reason for his leaving. When Sepulveda became county judge, Garcia took over his former office as county administrator.

He handed the letter to commissioners when they met and  discussed his position, including the possibility of termination, in executive session.

It was not the first time Garcia had provided state evidence in public officials' cases to the DA. In a previous case, he was a witness in the case against former Pct. 2 county commissioner Ernie Hernandez that also resulted in Hernandez giving up his position and entering the pre-trial diversion program. Hernandez had been indicted for his role in the illegal hiring of his brother-in-law Roberto Cadriel by the county's international bridges.

Some wags in county government called him "Immunity David."

Apparently, Treviño had foreseen the public's response to the rehiring of Sepulveda and told the Brownsville Herald that over the next week commissioners will be reviewing the duties and job description of the county administrator, including examining any issues, qualifications and potential duties.

“We’ll be evaluating the position,” Treviño told the daily, explaining that the commission will look at what is working and what is not working.

Then, the county will conduct a nationwide search for a new county administrator, Treviño said.

Sepulveda moves from his position as executive director at the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority. He also previously served as county judge and county administrator.