A former San Antonio Planning and Development Services Department building inspector has been indicted on 46 felony counts of accepting bribes from contractors. 

Prosecutors have alleged Ernest Martinez, 51, took $27,000 in payments from contractor Alfredo Bravo Abundes from March 2008 to August 2009.  Abundes, 58, and Martinez were each indicted last month on 41 counts of bribery, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The grand jury handed down five more counts accusing Martinez of accepting $1,300 in bribes from another man, a Mexican national who was not charged.

The third man, who wrote easily traceable checks for the payments, was cooperative and did not seem to have any idea he was breaking the law, said First Assistant District Attorney Cliff Herberg. 

“He said, ‘That’s the way we do it in Mexico,’ ” Herberg said.

The city’s Office of Municipal Integrity began investigating the department in October 2009, leading to some structures being re-inspected.  The investigation was later handed over to the police department, the district attorney’s office and the FBI.

Last month’s indictments are probably the last that will result from the district attorney’s office investigation, Herberg said, explaining that another city building inspector died before an indictment could be handed down.

A former assistant director of the city department, Fernando De Leon is currently under an FBI investigation, Herberg said.  An FBI spokesman, however, would neither confirm nor deny that an investigation is under way.

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A former San Antonio businessman was sentenced to ten years in prison Tuesday for ripping off customers through a Budget Blinds franchise.  Larry Eugene Berry, last month was convicted of theft and misapplication of fiduciary property, felonies punishable by up to 10 years.  In addition to the maximum prison term, state district Judge Mary Roman ordered Berry to pay $78, 733 in restitution to dozens of former customers of Budget Blinds and Blinds Depot a door to door business he created after the first one collapsed.

Larry stated to the court, I’m immensely sorry to any of my victims he said.  What I did was wrong.  After I saw the business going down, I guess I was under the delusion that through hard work I could save it.  Prosecutors claim that he took down 41 customers knowing he couldnt deliver the window blinds they wanted…  He also faces similar charges in Travis County.  Does this story ever end!!!

Law Offices of Robert I. Kahn

111 Soledad St, Suite 1700, San Antonio, TX 78205 (210) 225-6600 Google Review | Website | Directions

Bennie Fuelberg’s lawyer told jurors Tuesday that his client erred by hiding his nepotism as general manager of the Pedernales Electric Coop, but committed no crimes.  Fuelberg, who retired in 2008, was accused the next year of conspiring with former PEC General Counsel Walter Demond to secretly funnel PEC funds to his brother Curtis Fuelberg and another man.  As his trial opened Tuesday he pleaded not guilty to the first degree felony charges of theft  and misapplication of fudiciary property and to a second degree charge of money laundering.

The trial was moved here because of the extensive publicity due to extensive publicity about the case in Johnson city, where the PEC headquarters are located.  The trial of Demond who faces identical charges is set for March in Boerne.

Law Offices of Robert I. Kahn

111 Soledad St, Suite 1700, San Antonio, TX 78205 (210) 225-6600 Google Review | Website | Directions