July 1, 2009
The former CEO of El Paso’s National Center for Employment of the Disabled, Robert E. “Bob” Jones, is scheduled to plead guilty to new and old charges at an 11 a.m. hearing in federal court Thursday.
The new charges are contained in two information documents filed this morning by the U.S. attorney’s office. (Download copies of those documents below)
Jones along with former NCED board president Patrick James Woods and former chief operating officer Ernesto Alonzo "Ernie" Lopez were named in a 37-count indictment handed up in October 2008. Jones was also named in a five-county indictment with Woods.
Jones' lawyer Joe Spencer said that as part of a plea agreement with the government, Jones will plead guilty Thursday to six counts or charges altogether -- three from the 37-count indictment, one from the small indictment and the two counts in the informations filed today.
"I think Mr. Jones wants to clean up all the public corruption he can in El Paso County," Spencer said. "I think he wants to be remembered for the contributions he has made to the community of El Paso as opposed to villainization of Bob Jones, though he does understand it and is taking responsibility for his actions.
"Mr. Jones will be cooperating with the government to resolve any public corruption he is aware of."
Spencer added that he does not think the investigation arising from Jones' cooperation "is going to stay within the confines of El Paso County."
One of the informations to which Jones intends to plead guilty accuses him of straight income tax evasion for aiding and abetting in the preparation of a false income tax return in 2004 by failing to report $1 million in income in 2003.
The other information describes a series of alleged frauds, conspiracies and bribery schemes involving county government and El Paso's three biggest school districts that are similar to the public corruption activities that have led to 11 guilty pleas since 2007.
Based on his admissions, the information charges that Jones colluded with at least 24 known conspirators who are unnamed in the information to defraud El Paso County and the El Paso, Ysleta and Socorro school districts.
That number is expected to be reduced to about 19 conspirators in a corrected information Thursday.
Four members of Commissioners Court
According to the information, Jones and two co-conspirators agreed to pay cash and other bribes in the form of campaign contributions and gratuities to a person identified as EF and to three alleged co-conspirators on El Paso County Commissioners Court for their votes on a medical benefits contract with Access Healthsource.
EF probably refers to former county Commissioner Elizabeth "Betti" Flores who pleaded guilty in 2007 to six sets of conspiracies. She has yet to be sentenced and the sentence she does receive will depend on the extent of her cooperation with the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office in their investigations.
Access, a third-party health benefits administrator, was owned by NCED, the nonprofit manufacturer Jones ran.
The targets in the investigation of Access include that company’s former CEO, Frank Apodaca.
3 El Paso, 3 Ysleta and 2 Socorro trustees
In dealing with the El Paso school board, Jones and three alleged but unnamed co-conspirators “agreed to pay cash and other bribes in the form of campaign contributions and gratuities” to a school district vendor and three members of the board in exchange for their votes and support for Access.
One of the conspirators is identified as SM, a likely reference to former El Paso school trustee Salvador “Sal” Mena Jr, who was indicted in August 2008 and pleaded guilty this past February to wire fraud, conspiracy and taking bribes involving Access Healthsource.
Also part of the fraud, bribery and conspiracy scheme described in the information was a district administrator.
The descriptions of things at the Ysleta and Socorro school district are the same, also involving Access Healthsource and the administration of the districts’ health care plans.
Jones and four co-conspirators, the information alleges, agreed to pay bribes in cash and in the form of campaign contributions to three Ysleta trustees and two Socorro school trustees for their votes and support for Access and its related business entities.
Until this week, hearings in the Jones case have been before Federal Judge Phillip Martinez but this week, the government and Jones lawyer filed a joint motion to move the Jones proceedings to Federal Judge Frank Montalvo, who will hear Jones' guilty plea Thursday.
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To reach David Crowder, write to dcrowder@epmediagroup.com or call (915) 351-0605, ext. 30, or 630-6622.