The Jim Wells County grand jury in Alice, Texas indicted the former 79th District Attorney Joe Frank Garza for first-degree felony misapplication of fiduciary property.
Garza, 63, misused over $200,000 in asset forfeiture funds in 2002 through 2008.
The indictment charges Garza for paying himself and employees of the district attorney’s office hundreds of thousands of dollars over the seven years.
In a May, 2010, an audit of the forfeiture funds show Garza spent over $4.2 million for extra pay and trips to casinos. Most of the funds came from vehicles, cash and seizure of drugs along Highway 281 going to and from Mexico.
Texas law prohibits district attorneys from using these funds to increase their own salaries and their employees from a county, unless the local commissioner’s court approves the expenditure.
“Garza is charged with failing to comply with the law and instead improperly using the asset forfeiture funds under his control for his personal financial benefit,” indicated an information release from Texas Attorney General Glen Abbott.
Asset forfeiture funds can only be used for official purposes of a law enforcement agency or district attorney’s office and cannot be converted for personal use.
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