Former Reeves County Judge Jimmy Galindo Pleads Guilty

Former Reeves County Judge Jimmy Galindo pleaded guilty to federal bribery and income tax related charges announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr.; Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division; and, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agent in Charge William Cotter, San Antonio Division.

Galindo, age 53, of Selma, TX, appeared today in front of United States Magistrate Judge John W. Primomo to enter his plea of guilty to a criminal information charging one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of failure to file income tax returns.

Galindo served as County Judge for Reeves County from January 1995 through December 2006. Galindo, on behalf of Reeves County, negotiated a contract with a company owned by Vernon C. Farthing, III, of Lubbock, TX, to provide medical services for inmates located in the Reeves County Correctional Center. Galindo signed the contract on September 13, 2006. The Information alleges that Galindo conspired with Farthing and District 19 Texas State Senator Carlos Uresti to ensure that Farthing’s company was awarded that contract.

To secure the contract, the Information states that Farthing agreed to hire Uresti as a “consultant” and pay him approximately $10,000 a month. Uresti, in turn, agreed to pay Galindo one-half of the money he received from Farthing’s company. From January 2007 until September 30, 2016, Uresti paid Galindo approximately half of the monies Uresti received each month from Farthing. The Information also alleges that Galindo failed to file individual income tax returns for the years 2004 to the present.

Upon conviction, Galindo faces up to five years in federal prison on the bribery charge and up to one year in federal prison on the tax charge. Galindo’s sentencing date is set for August 17, 2017

The FBI’s Pubic Corruption Task Force is conducting this investigation. The Task Force is comprised of investigators from the FBI, IRS-CI, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Peace Corps-Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph E. Blackwell, William R. Harris and Mark Roomberg are prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.

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