Lorenzo Garcia: El Paso ISD Chief With Local Ties Indicted Over Houston Contract

By Richard Connelly Tue., Aug. 2 2011 at 11:01 AM

Categories: Crime, Education

Pin It

Lorenzo Garcia: Contract with Houston company leads to indictment.

The head of the El Paso school district has been indicted over charges he steered a lucrative no-bid contract to a Houston company owned by a woman with whom he had a personal relationship.

Lorenzo Garcia, a former assistant superintendent at Spring Branch ISD and (red alert!!) deputy superintendent in Dallas, which has had its share of contract problems, was indicted on fraud over a $450,000 contract.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in El Paso doesn't name the company -- officially it's an unindicted co-conspirator -- but the El Paso Times reports it has "obtained documents that indicate one company that received a sole-source contract during the same time frame was Houston-based Infinity Resources and Associates. The company's president was Tracy Rose."

"The citizens of this community deserve to have a sense of confidence that their tax dollars are being spent efficiently for the public good and not for the private enrichment of a select few," David Cuthbertson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in El Paso, said in a statement after the arrest.

According to his official bio, Garcia has a doctorate from the University of Houston.

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter: Our weekly feature stories, movie reviews, calendar picks and more - minus the newsprint and sent directly to your inbox.