McAllen city commissioner pleads not guilty to smuggling, money laundering charges

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — McAllen City Commissioner Rodolfo “Rudy” Castillo pleaded not guilty to smuggling and money laundering charges Monday.

Castillo waived his right to a formal arraignment before a federal judge and pleaded not guilty by filing a one-page form.

“The arraignment is just part of the process,” said attorney Rick Salinas of Mission, who represents Castillo.

In federal cases, it’s common for defendants to waive arraignment. It saves the defendant — and the defendant’s lawyer, who may represent dozens of clients — a trip to court.

“We haven’t really gotten any of the evidence in this case,” Salinas said. “And we’re looking for that as well.”

Homeland Security Investigations seized a large amount of cash from McAllen City Commissioner Rodolfo "Rudy" Castillo's house on Thursday.

U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker accepted Castillo’s waiver of arraignment form Monday morning.

Castillo and his wife, Bertha, own Oro Ropa Usada, which buys and sells used clothing.

Homeland Security Investigations, which is part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, had an informant call Castillo in August.

During the call, Castillo said he shipped used clothing to Mexico without submitting the proper customs paperwork, according to the criminal complaint against him. Castillo also confessed to bribing members of an elite law enforcement unit.

“The people who are on the floor, they eat from a different plate,” Castillo said in Spanish, according to the criminal complaint, “implying that individuals in lower positions or struggling operate differently and may accept bribes to make ends meet.”

McAllen City Commissioner Rodolfo "Rudy" Castillo, left, left the federal courthouse in McAllen on Oct. 21, 2025. (Dave Hendricks / CBS 4 News)

Homeland Security Investigations also sent an undercover agent to meet with Castillo and his wife.

During the meeting, the undercover agent paid them nearly $21,000 “for the purchase and transport of used clothing into Mexico,” according to the criminal complaint.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped a shipment of used clothing from Oro Ropa Usada in September.

The driver said Castillo “had only provided him with Mexican importation documents, which contained blank fields and lacked a commodity description,” according to the criminal complaint.

Agents raided Oro Ropa Usada and searched Castillo’s house on Oct. 2. During the search, agents discovered nearly $160,000 in cash at Castillo’s house.

Castillo is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, smuggling goods from the United States and conspiracy to commit money laundering. His wife, Bertha, is also charged with conspiracy to encourage non-citizens to enter the United States unlawfully, three counts of encouraging a non-citizen to enter the United States unlawfully and engaging in a pattern or practice of hiring people without permission to work in the United States.

After his arrest, Castillo said he talked with his constituents.

“They’re behind me 100%,” Castillo told CBS 4 last week. “And we’ll see what happens.”

Castillo is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on Nov. 26.