Christina R. Garza
Court appearances have been pushed back for three women accused of bribery in Cameron County.
Lilina Cantu, Vanessa Weaver Mercado and Maria Velia Silguero were scheduled to appear Friday before 103rd state District Court Judge Janet Leal, but their appearances were rescheduled.
According to the Cameron County Human Resources Department, Cantu worked for former Cameron County Justice of the Peace Precinct 2, Place 2 Erin H. Garcia from Dec. 2009 until Oct. 2013.
Court documents allege Cantu tampered with government records and accepted bribes for favorable court outcomes.
Court records show Mercado and Silguero are each charged with one count of bribery. Officials allege both Mercado and Silguero provided Cantu with a cash payment in exchange for a favorable disposition in a pending court case in Garcia’s court in January 2013.
In addition to Cantu’s bribery charge, she faces three counts of tampering with government records for her reported involvement in making false entries of completion of community service hours in a community service agreement.
Announcement dates for Cantu and Silguero were reset for Feb. 6.
A defense attorney representing Mercado requested a continuance in her case.
Source: brownsvilleherald
