Two political agents linked to Representative Henry CuellarD-Texas, agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with the Department of Justiceof the bribery case against Cuellar, according to court documents unsealed this week.
Mina Colin Strother, Cuellar’s former campaign manager and chief of staff, and Florencio “Lencho” Rendon, a Texas businessman described as Cuellar’s “close associate” in court documents, signed plea agreements in March.
The Department of Justice last week released an accusation accusing Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, of accepting $598,000 in bribes from foreign entities, including a Mexican bank and an oil and gas company controlled by Azerbaijan.
Strother and Rendon were both charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with the scheme.
Allegedly, Cuellar and Rendon created the scheme in 2015, after learning that the bank was having difficulty conducting business in the US. They worked out a “fake consulting contract” with the bank and a plan for Rendon to funnel most of his follows to Cuellar’s wife, according to court documents.
Rendon approached Strother about a project to test and certify a fuel additive made by a Mexican company for sale in the U.S., telling Strother that he would pay him $11,000 monthly on the condition that Strother send $10,000 every month to the Cuellar’s wife, according to court documents.
Rendon made monthly payments of $242,000 to Strother from March 2016 to December 2017, according to court documents. Strother used the money to make $10,000 payments every month to Cuellar’s wife, totaling $214,890, authorities say.
Eventually realizing that the fuel company project “was a sham,” Strother discovered that the payments were intended to “funnel money” to Cuellar without Cuellar having to report it in his annual financial disclosures, according to court documents.
Rendon faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, while Strother faces up to five years.
An attorney for Cuellar told NBC News on Thursday that he was not concerned about the plea deals.
“If Rendon and Strother tell the truth, we are not concerned,” said attorney Chris Flood.
A Justice Department spokesperson and attorneys for Strother and Rendon did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday night.
In a statement last week, before the charges were revealed, Cuellar denied any wrongdoing and said he “proactively sought legal advice” from the House Ethics Committee.
“I want to make it clear that both my wife and I are innocent of these allegations. Everything I did in Congress was to serve the people of South Texas,” he said.
He added that he will continue his bid for re-election. Two Republicans are fighting for their party’s nomination in this month’s runoff elections. The winner will face Cuellar in the fall. Cuellar did not have a main challenger.
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
