Officer Ismael Gomez is Arrested by F.B.I.

[WaTcHeR]

11/01/06 - McALLEN, TEXAS - A former Elsa police officer is the second to be indicted recently for allegedly taking bribes to protect drug loads, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

Officer Ismael Gomez, 27, is accused in a one-count indictment of receiving about $2,500 to use his official position to protect a vehicle he believed was transporting 10 kilograms of cocaine. The indictment was returned by a McAllen grand jury on Oct. 24 and unsealed Wednesday.

Gomez surrendered to the FBI and was ordered held without bond pending a hearing Nov. 6. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and $250,000 in fines if convicted.

Another former Elsa police officer, 45-year-old Herman Carr of Donna, was indicted in an unrelated case in September for allegedly taking $5,000 to provide protection for a vehicle he believed was transporting five kilograms of cocaine. Carr is awaiting trial.

abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=state&id=4718728

[WaTcHeR]

11.10.2006 - McALLEN — A former city of Elsa police officer pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to a charge he accepted a bribe and used his position to protect a drug trafficker.

Officer Herman Carr, 45, of Donna, was convicted after admitting he took $5,000 for providing police protection to an individual Carr believed would be transporting five kilograms of cocaine through Elsa in August.

The drug trafficker was actually an FBI witness and Carr was arrested immediately after he accepted payment, according to court documents.

Judge Ricardo Hinojosa set sentencing for Jan. 19 and permitted Carr to remain on bond pending that hearing.

Carr faces up to 20 years in federal prison without parole and a $250,000 fine.

Carr was the first of two Elsa police officers arrested for aiding drug traffickers.

Last month, Ismael Gomez, 27, was indicted in connection with an April 24 incident in which authorities allege he took $2,500 to protect the driver of a vehicle carrying 10 kilograms of cocaine through town.

In July, Elsa’s usual 15-man police force was down to 12 after a string of separate incidents resulting in the firing or suspension of Elsa officers. Carr’s arrest brought the force down to 11.

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