Mayor hearing delayed
Mayor Pat M. Ahumada Jr.'s pretrial hearing slated for Thursday was postponed, but Ahumada said he would not seek a delay for his trial scheduled for late July.
"I think my attorney (Ed Cyganiewicz) had another case going on. There was a conflict with his agenda," Ahumada said of why the pretrial hearing was postponed on Thursday.
According to the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, pretrial hearings are held to consider pleadings or motions from the defendant or the state for various matters, including requests for continuance, to suppress evidence, to change venue or discovery.
The pretrial hearing on the mayor's case was reset for June 29, the court record reflects.
This is in connection with the three-count indictment that a Cameron County grand jury returned against Ahumada in March, charging him with abuse of official capacity, misapplication of fiduciary property and theft. The mayor pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The charges against the mayor stem from a $26,139 check that the city issued to Tarsia Technical Industries Inc., of Hauppauge, N.Y, on Oct. 22, but that ended up in Ahumada's business bank account on Oct. 28.
Ahumada has said that either someone wants to discredit him, or city staff gave him the check in error instead of a travel or mileage check, and that he or a family member or associate deposited it by mistake.
On the other hand, the indictment suggests that grand jurors believed that Ahumada deposited the check and that it was no mistake.
All are felony offenses. Each charge carries a possible prison term from two to 10 years and up to a $10,000 fine.
The trial date is July 27 before state District Judge Benjamin Euresti Jr.
Ahumada said Thursday that he would not be asking for continuances or a delay in the trial. "I want this resolved," the mayor said of the charges leveled against him.
"I'm in good hands," Ahumada said of his attorney. "He has his job to do and I'm going on with the business of being mayor," he added.
