McALLEN — One by one, the six accused in the latest round of federal indictments on bribery and corruption charges in the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo school district pleaded not guilty in federal court Friday morning.

“There’s a lot of holes in the government’s case,” said Al Alvarez, attorney for accused PSJA school board member Roy Navarro.

“I’ve always been of the position the U.S. attorney’s office out of Houston doesn’t have a grasp on what goes on down here. They think because there’s a lot of growth and a lot of money moving around that something must be wrong.”

Friday’s court appearances of schools Superintendent Arturo Guajardo, school board members Navarro and Vangie Garcia-De Leon; her husband, Richard De Leon; and businessmen Arnulfo “Arnie” Olivarez and George Hernandez follow the unsealing of a 22-count indictment Tuesday.

The U.S. attorney’s office alleges that between 1998 and 2004 Guajardo, Garcia-De Leon, Navarro and another school board member, Roy Rodriguez — who was arraigned May 31 — accepted gifts in exchange for favorable votes on construction jobs and an employee health insurance contract. As superintendent, Guajardo did not vote on contracts, but he is alleged to have used his position to influence the board.

Richard De Leon, Hernandez, who is president of the Donna School Board, and Olivarez, the PSJA school district’s former insurance agent of record, are accused of acting as middlemen in the bribery scheme

Among the gifts listed by federal prosecutors are prostitution services, lavish vacations to Las Vegas, tickets to a Cher concert and Oscar de la Hoya boxing match, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and construction work on the indicted PSJA officials’ homes.

In court Friday, U.S. Magistrate Dorina Ramos ordered Garcia-De Leon and Navarro to abstain from voting on any contracts for goods or services for the time being. That followed words from the judge earlier the week suggesting the two might be ordered to resign.

Alvarez said he would likely appeal Ramos’ order.

“It’s got nothing to do with protecting the safety of the community,” he said. “But it’s not surprising in view of the fact they wanted them to resign.”

Guajardo, whom Ramos also asked to step down earlier this week, is now expected to finish out his contract with the district but not spend any time on campus. According to his attorney, Reynaldo Garza, Guajardo will be on paid vacation until his superintendent’s contract expires June 30.

“He has sufficient personal time and vacation to take him through the rest of the month,” Garza said. “He’s been working for the district for (more than) 30 years and it would be a shame to throw all that away.”

Daniel King, the Hidalgo schools superintendent tapped to replace Guajardo — who was already slated to retire before the recent scandal broke — has been meeting with PSJA staff for months but is not scheduled to take over until July 1.

In the meantime, Guajardo will remain PSJA superintendent in an official capacity, said school district attorney Gus Acevedo. No interim will be named.

____

James Osborne covers McAllen and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4428.