Former bassist in legendary tejano band accused of indecency with child

PHARR — Officers arrested former Grupo Mazz member Mario Gonzalez last week in connection with an indecency with a minor charge, Pharr police spokesman Lupe Salinas confirmed Tuesday.

Gonzalez, former bassist for the legendary tejano group, was arrested Friday and was being held in the Hidalgo County jail on a $150,000 bond.

Pharr police investigators executed a search warrant at Gonzalez’s Poinsettia Street residence on Tuesday and discovered child pornography, Salinas said.

It wasn’t immediately clear Tuesday what new charges Gonzalez may face in light of that discovery, but he could be called back to court for another arraignment later this week, Salinas said.

Grupo Mazz was one of the most popular tejano groups in the 1990s.

Last year, group frontman Joe Lopez was convicted on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child, stemming from an accusation made by a family member. He was sentenced to a total of 32 1/2 years in prison, but because those sentences are running concurrently, his prison term amounts to 20 years. He is eligible for parole in 2016, after serving half that time.

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Monitor Deputy Metro Editor Deborah Martinez translated this report.

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Quetzalli B. Prado covers general assignments for La Frontera. You can reach her at (956) 683-4852.