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Two San Antonio city councilmen and two prominent local lawyers were arrested this morning by federal agents on charges that they participated in a bribery scheme to get the city's lucrative contract for collecting delinquent Municipal Court fees and fines.
Councilmen Enrique "Kike" Martin (above, center) and John Sanders (below, right) are escorted by FBI agents to the downtown FBI office.
Jerry Lara/Express-News
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Councilmen Enrique Martin and John Sanders and lawyers Jack Pytel and Juan Pena have been charged in the indictment, which states that the councilmen accepted bribes totaling $12,000 in exchange for votes in April favoring a bid by the San Antonio law firm of Linebarger Goggan Blair Pena & Sampson.
Sanders, who represents District 2, was arrested in City Council chambers. Authorities arrested Martin, who represents District 4, and Pytel at Southwest General Hospital.
At their arraignments this afternoon, Martin, Sanders and Pytel were released on their own recognizance after posting bail of $50,000 each.
Martin and Sanders are both expected to attend Thursday’s meeting of the City Council.
Pena, a partner in the Linebarger firm, was arrested today in Edinburg and was to appear before a magistrate in McAllen.
At an afternoon news conference, FBI agent Steve McCraw and U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton hinted that the investigation is far reaching and that other officials are being examined.
“The U.S. attorney's office and the FBI will not stand by while public officials sell their offices,” Sutton said.
A federal indictment states that when the City Council originally voted on the tax collection contract on Jan. 10, Sanders voted against a bid by the Linebarger firm. Martin abstained during that vote.
On April 18, Martin and Sanders voted with the majority of the council in awarding the contract to the Linebarger firm.
The nine-count indictment states that Pena gave $25,000 to Pytel, who had been contracted by the Linebarger firm to lobby the City Council.
Pytel, according to the indictment, then gave $2,500 in cash to Martin “on or about March 14.” At the same meeting, the indictment states, the two men discussed paying a bribe to Sanders.
Sanders then accepted $2,500 in cash in return for his support of the Linebarger bid, according to the indictment.
Martin received an additional $5,000 from Pytel about 10 days before the second vote, according to the indictment, which adds that Sanders received an additional $2,000 as payment for his vote on May 1.
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