Starr County Tax Assessor-Collector and entire Staff arrested for public corruption

By: Jose G. Landa, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2015

Just when South Texas thought they had seen all the forms of public corruption by their public officials, Starr County residents were shocked to learn that their Tax Assessor-Collector Maria Del Carmen Pena and her entire staff of six Deputy Clerks, together with nine other defendants, were arrested after being charged with tampering with government records, theft by a public servant, and engaging in criminal activity in a public corruption scheme of over $700,000 on Wednesday, December 9, 2015, in Rio Grande City, Texas.

The arrest of the Starr County Tax Assessor-Collector Pena and her entire staff have caused the Texas county to be temporarily closed because there is no one knowledgeable to run and operate the office, which includes collection of County taxes and processing of Texas motor vehicle registrations and license plates.

Starr County is recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau as one of the top 10 poorest counties in the United States.

Starr County Commissioners Court is going to have to schedule a meeting to appoint an Interim Tax Assessor-Collector and hire new deputy clerks to manage the important dual county/state public office.

Also arrested and charged in the public corruption scheme are two brothers of Pena, Fernando Alvarez and Jose Antonio Alvarez.

Prosecutors noted that Pena took public funds from county taxes paid by residents during November 2010 through October 2012 and her deputy clerks allegedly helped her back date tax payments as if they had been paid early to cover-up the scheme.

A person arrested and charged with a criminal offense is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court at law according to United States constitutional law.