US: Former Texas police chief gets 15 1/2 years for bribery

PTI| Texas

Updated: 06-08-2022 06:13 IST | Created: 06-08-2022 06:13 IST

A former West Texas police chief was sentenced to 15 1/2 years in prison for taking bribes for a multimillion-dollar contract for a city vendor.

A federal judge on Friday sentenced former San Angelo police Chief Timothy Ray Vasquez (52), in San Angelo after a jury in March convicted him of bribery and mail fraud.

US District Judge James Wesley Hendrix also fined Vasquez USD 35,000.

Vasquez was police chief from 2004 to 2016 before losing a bid for re-election while targeted by federal investigators. He was indicted in January 2020.

Federal prosecutors presented evidence that Vasquez used his position as police chief to help a radio system vendor land a city contract worth almost USD 6 million.

In return, the vendor paid more than USD 175,000 to Vasquez and provided him with the use of luxury suites at sporting events and a rock concert, as well as a San Antonio condo.

Vasquez could have been sentenced to up to 70 years in prison.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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San AngeloTimothy RayWest TexasVasquezSan AntonioJames Wesley Hendrix

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