Stuck in jail, city commissioner can’t attend McAllen meetings

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The McAllen City Commission had big decisions to make on Monday afternoon.

Whether to borrow $30 million for a water treatment plant. Where to build electrical substations. How to classify more than 100 pieces of property under the city’s new development code.

City Commissioner Rodolfo “Rudy” Castillo, however, didn’t make any decisions Monday — because he remained in jail on federal smuggling and money laundering charges.

“Just the mere fact that he’s a commissioner kinda gives us a black eye,” said McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos. “But it really shouldn’t. Because it has nothing to do with the city.”

Agents with Homeland Security Investigations, which is part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, arrested Castillo on Oct. 3.

Castillo is accused of smuggling used clothing across the border and bribing members of an elite Mexican law enforcement unit, according to the criminal complaint against him.

More than a week after his arrest, Castillo remains in jail.

“Right now, it’s unfortunate that the government’s taken such a hard approach,” said attorney Rick Salinas of Mission, who represents Castillo.

A magistrate judge set bond at $100,000 with a $10,000 cash deposit, but federal prosecutors appealed the decision, which kept Castillo in jail.

U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton is scheduled to hear the appeal on Tuesday.

“He might end up resigning if they don’t give him a bond,” Salinas said. “It’s going to be a question of not being able to fulfill his obligations. That’s going to be tough.”

Salinas, though, said he was optimistic that Castillo would be released on bond.

Castillo was born in McAllen. He owns a business in McAllen. And he’s lived in McAllen for decades.

He’s not a flight risk, Salinas said, and would comply with any conditions set by the court.

If the judge sets bond, Salinas said he would advise Castillo not to resign from the City Commission.

“That idea — of people just quitting — it just leaves the bad taste in someone’s mouth that he did something wrong,” Salinas said.

The case against Castillo is part of a federal investigation focused on businesses that buy and sell used clothing.

Businesses in the Rio Grande Valley buy millions of pounds of used clothing — which is known as ropa usada — from Goodwill and other nonprofit organizations in the United States.

Some used clothing is sold at local thrift stores. Most is sent to Mexico, even though it’s illegal to import used clothing without special permission from the Mexican government.

As a result, some ropa usada businesses pay corrupt Mexican customs officials and people affiliated with organized crime for protection.

“What he was doing was done by a lot of folks,” Salinas said. “And, all of the sudden, one day they just decide that they’re going to go out there and pick up people. And that’s OK. The government, that’s their prerogative. They can do that.”

Castillo and his wife, Bertha, own Oro Ropa Usada, which is located on South 28th Street near Military Highway.

The investigation started in August, when Castillo received a WhatsApp call from a federal informant.

“During the call, CASTILLO explicitly stated that he avoids reporting merchandise entry into Mexico to evade detection by authorities,” according to the criminal complaint against him. “CASTILLO further discussed making payments to various parties, including corrupt Mexican law enforcement officials, to facilitate uninterrupted transport.”

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

The informant paid them $20,742 in cash for a shipment of used clothing.

During a meeting at Oro Ropa Usada, the undercover agent told Castillo “his job was to collect money from Houston and transport it south, earning a 1-2% commission on the total amount transported,” according to the criminal complaint.

People who transport cash for drug trafficking organizations frequently receive a percentage of the money as payment.

Customs and Border Protection stopped the ropa usada shipment at the Hidalgo bridge.

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

Homeland Security Investigations determined that Castillo didn’t submit a shipper’s export declaration for the clothing, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed to report the cash.

Prosecutors charged Castillo with smuggling goods from the United States and money laundering.

Castillo surrendered to Homeland Security Investigations on Oct. 3.

U.S. Pretrial Services recommended a judge set Castillo’s bond at $75,000 with no cash deposit.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Cook Profit, who is prosecuting the case, disagreed with the recommendation.

Homeland Security Investigations found a large amount of cash at Castillo’s house, Profit said. While agents hadn’t actually counted the money, the government believed that Castillo had $100,000 to $300,000.

Castillo also bragged about his connections in Mexico, Profit said, and regularly crossed the border.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Juan F. Alanis set Castillo’s bond at $100,000 with a $10,000 cash deposit.

Prosecutors appealed the decision, which kept Castillo in jail for more than a week.

“I still don’t understand the need to have him and the wife locked up,” Salinas said. “It seems a little bit too much.”

The charges against Castillo shocked many people in McAllen.

“He is such a good guy,” Villalobos said. “And everybody’s surprised about the charges.”