The Mexican businessman, who has been convicted twice for laundering money and has ties with the Zetas drug cartel, has been arrested again due to bribery. He reportedly tried to bribe a federal judge in Austin.
In a report by Statesman, the man in question, Francisco Colorado Cessa, went to trial this month for the second time in a conspiracy case after he allegedly tried to bribe the federal judge. The jury has found him guilty of one count of conspiracy to bribe a public official and one substantive count of bribery of a public official by offer or by promise.
Prosecutors said that Cessa and his son plus one more business partner tried to pay $1.2 million to United States District Judge Sam Sparks in exchange for a reduced sentence regarding his money laundering case, Express News reported. The verdict came four months after his first supposed bribery conviction was reversed when a judge improperly denied his right to withdraw his guilty plea.
The 55-year-old now faces up to 20 years in federal prison on the money laundering conspiracy case and 15 years in federal prison for the bribery by offer or promise. An additional five years could also be faced by him for the offense of conspiracy to commit bribery.
The defense team of Cessa has argued that no payments were made on his behalf so no crime was committed. ArkLaTex added that his attorney, Chris Flood, was disappointed with the jury's decision. He said, "I've been doing this for 30 years, and what I can tell you right now, this latest verdict convinces me that I'm not sure a Mexican citizen can actually get a fair trial in the southern United States."
Lead Prosecutor, Doug Gardner, Assistant United States Attorney with the Western District of Texas said in a statement, "I'm glad the jury was able to see the facts and render their verdict as they did."
More on his money laundering case, he was part of the "Los Zetas" drug cartel in Mexico which mainly operated via racehorse operations in the United States.
