Chivis Martinez republished from San Antonio Express
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Villarreal (left)pleaded guilty in September to one count of money laundering conspiracy and one count of internationally transporting of stolen money. He was accused in court documents of taking out loans on the state's credit and handing out government contracts in exchange for bribes.
Coahuila businessman charged in ongoing money laundering investigation
By Jason Buch and Guillermo Contreras
Rolando González Treviño was arrested Oct. 31, 2014, in Las Vegas by deferal agents, He is the brother os a media mgnate from Coahuila and is facing charges in a wide-ranging probe into money allegedly stoelmn from the state later laundered in San Antonio and South Texas.
Rolando González Treviño was arrested Oct. 31, 2014, in Las Vegas by deferal agents, He is the brother os a media mgnate from Coahuila and is facing charges in a wide-ranging probe into money allegedly stoelmn from the state later laundered in San Antonio and South Texas.
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In meetings at the Club at Sonterra in Stone Oak and at the Coahuila governor's mansion in Saltillo, Mexico, in 2009, officials from the border state and a businessman with San Antonio ties discussed using stolen money to buy media properties, according to a federal indictment unsealed Monday.
That spring, the conspirators paid nearly $2 million to Rolando González Treviño, a Mexican businessman who owns several pieces of real estate in San Antonio and a TV station in Eagle Pass, the indictment says.
Federal agents in Las Vegas arrested González as he stepped of a commercial flight with his family Friday night. He's charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to transport stolen property and conspiracy to launder money.
González faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the money laundering and wire fraud charges, which are the most serious. Prosecutors are also asking for a $1.8 million judgment against him.
His lawyers said the charges were kept secret all weekend. González denies doing anything wrong.
“He didn't do what he's accused of,” said San Antonio attorney Brandon Hudson.
González's arrest is the latest development in a sprawling investigation into allegations that money stolen from the state of Coahuila was laundered in San Antonio and elsewhere in South Texas. A half-dozen people have been charged in the case, and prosecutors have moved to seize tens of millions of dollars in bank accounts and real estate.
In 2006, an unidentified co-conspirator ordered Coahuila government officials to pay 100 million pesos, or more than $7 million, of state money to another unidentified co-conspirator, according to the indictment. Around the same time, the first co-conspirator told a government official that he wanted to buy media outlets in Coahuila.
The outlets aren't identified, but the indictment alleges that in February 2009, members of the conspiracy traveled to San Antonio in a private plane to meet with González at the golf club. González and his family own radio and television companies in Mexico, and the indictment alleges that he discussed with the co-conspirators the sale of media properties for 25 million pesos, or about $1.8 million.
A month later, a Coahuila state official met with two of his employees at the governor's mansion in the capital of Saltillo where another co-conspirator gave them bank account numbers for González, the indictment alleges. In April and May 2009, González received a series of wire transfers from private companies in Mexico totaling about $1.8 million, according to the indictment.
Court records don't explain which media companies were purchased or if the money that was allegedly stolen from the state of Coahuila was wired to González.
González comes from a prominent family in Coahuila. A brother, Roberto Casimiro González Treviño, is a media mogul who critics say supported former Gov. Humberto Moreira and his Institutional Revolutionary Party.
Another brother, Raúl González Treviño, was Moreira's spokesman in San Antonio. His son Raul González Fernandez pleaded guilty last month in federal court in San Antonio to a drug conspiracy charge.
The family has been caught up in a U.S. investigation into allegations that state officials and unscrupulous businessmen laundered tens of millions of dollars in San Antonio.
During Moreira's term in office from 2005 to 2011, the state government racked up nearly $3 billion in debt.
Roberto Casimiro González, Raúl González and Moreira haven't been charged with any crimes.
Two people have pleaded guilty in the investigation so far, including Coahuila's former treasurer, Héctor Javier Villarreal.
Villarreal agreed to turn over $6.5 million in bank accounts that he controlled
Charges are pending against Jorge Juan Torres López, the former interim governor of Coahuila.
Rolando González owns a television company in Mexico and in recent years has expanded his business into Texas. A limited liability company he controls owns a TV station in Eagle Pass. Other companies he controls own San Antonio properties including empty lots, a house on the far North Side and a small office building on the Northwest Side.
He and other family members have purchased more than a dozen properties in San Antonio since 2007.