Latest Legal News from the Criminal Courts in Houston, Texas

June 4, 2007

Five Rio Grande Valley Residents Indicted for Voter Fraud

One indicted for voting twice; four charged with conducting mail-in ballot scheme

RIO GRANDE CITY – Five Starr and Hidalgo County residents face voter fraud charges for their conduct during the 2006 election cycle. Last week, a Brooks County grand jury returned felony indictments against the five defendants in an investigation that began with a complaint filed by Starr County Elections Administrator Rafael R. Montalvo.

Jose Rene Gomez, 33, was indicted for voting twice during the November 2006 general election in Starr County, a third-degree felony. The grand jury charged four other defendants with conducting an illegal mail-in ballot scheme during the March 2006 primary election in Starr County. They are Oralia Frausto, 49; Dolores Gutierrez, 58, also known as Maria Gonzalez; and Gomez, all of Starr County, and Oscar Rios, 37, of Hidalgo County. Rios was arrested Thursday by Precinct 3 Constable Lazaro Gallardo Jr. Arrests of the remaining defendants remain pending.

“Our democratic system of government depends upon fair elections,” said Attorney General Greg Abbott. “Texans will not tolerate illegal schemes that undermine the electoral process. Voters can rest assured that the Office of the Attorney General will protect the validity of their votes and defend the integrity of the ballot box. We are grateful to Starr County Elections Administrator Montalvo for uncovering this extraordinary election fraud case.”

Defendants Frausto, Gutierrez and Rios collectively face more than 50 counts of possessing the ballot of another person without consent, a state jail felony. Prosecutors with the Office of Attorney General, who presented all five cases to the Brooks County grand jury, will prosecute each of the defendants.

Attorney General Abbott added, “The Office of the Attorney General has received critical assistance from Starr County Sheriff Reymundo Guerra and Constable Lazaro Gallardo for their efforts to cooperate and assist with the arrests of the suspects in this case.”

According to the Attorney General’s investigation, false addresses and the names of nonexistent Starr County voters were used to illegally obtain voter registration cards. The addresses that appeared on those cards were not actual voters’ residences, but rather were vacant lots and condemned buildings.

Fraudulently obtained registration cards enabled the defendants to complete mail-in ballot applications, which instructed the Starr County elections office to send mail-in ballots to Hidalgo County addresses, presumably where the “voters” would be present during the March 2006 Starr County Democratic primary election. The four defendants picked up the ballots at the Hidalgo County addresses. The ballots were then filled out and mailed them to the Starr County elections office.

 

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