DELAYED JURY SELECTION IN GALLEGOS CASES RESET FOR OCTOBER 11

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

The first entries in the conspiracy and theft from federal grant programs filed in federal court against Ruben Gallegos Sr. and Ruben Gallegos Jr. and their International Education Services were entered into  the federal docket on August 30, l2022.

Then defense attorney Tony (Trey) Martinez and his fellow counsel Tomas Tijerina started filing motion upon motion that delayed the start of jury selection which has ben reset at least half dozen times. It is noteworthy to point out that Martinez is a former federal prosecutor and knows his way around a federal court and the complexities of running (and defending against) a federal case.

(El Rrun-Rrun, without access or subscription to PACER,  had reported that jury selection was finally going to be held Monday, September 3 based on an order issued by federal judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. way back on March 26. 

That was before Martinez and Tijerina filed  another storm of motions, some opposed by the government, others not, that pushed back the jury selection once again to October 11. That order for an October jury selection was issued August 13.)

According to a visual inspection of the docket at the office of the district federal clerk's offices, the final pre-trial conference before Judge Rodriguez is set for October 1 now, with the selection of the jury 10 days later, on October 11. 

It would be good to keep in mind that the alleged criminal offenses leading to the men being charged with conspiracy and theft are alleged to have been committed way back between 2014- 2017.

The trial, which many local lawyers predicted would never happen and that the Gallegos would cop a plea, comes after Juan Jose Gonzalez, the former finance director pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy and theft charges concerning programs receiving federal funds before Judge Rodriguez Jr. in federal court in Brownsville.

Gonzalez, accompanied by his attorney Reynaldo "Trey" Garza" said guilty when the court asked his plea after an assistant U.S. Attorney read a lengthy indictment on the two counts arising from acts he admitted to committing between 2014 and 2017 conspiring with Gallegos Sr. and Gallegos Jr.

(The relationship between Gonzalez and the Gallegos go further than being fellow executive officers at IES. Gonzalez is married to a sister of Gallegos Sr., making him his brother-in-law and uncle to Gallegos Jr.)

He had previously pleaded not guilty to both charges at the time he was arrested along with the Gallegos Aug. 30, 2022. He had his re-arraignment hearing and changed them to guilty. In approximately 30 minutes that the re-arraignment lasted, he admitted that in those four years, he and the Gallegos were responsible to conspiring to steal and embezzle millions in federal funds.

Gallegos Sr. and Gallegos Jr. pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. They lengthened the process of discovery by requesting numerous emails and communications between federal agencies hoping to find a document that approved their actions.

"They aren't going to find anything," said a local attorney. "In the end, they will probably strike a deal with the government and not risk a conviction that will put them in jail for years."

The Gallegos are accused in their indictment of misapplying millions of dollars in federal grant funds meant to be used for temporarily housing migrant children at IES, a nonprofit. The Brownsville Herald's Mark Regan reported that IES abruptly shuttered its doors and fired all of its employees on March 31, 2018, although neither the federal government or IES explained why the nonprofit suddenly closed.

Federal officials say that the amount of misapplied funds total some $17 million, after the Gallegos defense team lowered it from $21 million. 

Gonzalez sentencing was also reset to come at a date after the Gallegos are tried.