MCALLEN, Texas-A former state district judge in South Texas faces up to 70 years in federal prison after being convicted of accepting bribes for favorable rulings while on the bench.
Rodolfo Delgado of Edinburg was convicted Thursday of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, federal program bribery and travel act bribery. The 65-year-old Delgado, who was tried in McAllen, remains free pending sentencing.
Investigators say Delgado, from 2008 to late 2016, conspired with a lawyer and accepted bribes, then tried to fake a story about the payments.
Delgado was elected to the bench in 2000. He was indicted in February 2018. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct suspended him the following month. Delgado resigned
in April 2018.
Delgado last November was elected to a state appeals court, but suspended after being sworn in.