Bribery Trial of Former San Angelo Police Chief Set for March

SAN ANGELO, TX — On March 7, the trial of former San Angelo Police Chief Timothy Vasquez will commence in federal court in Lubbock. Vasquez pleaded not guilty to federal charges in January 2020 that included one count of receipt of a bribe by an agent of an organization receiving federal funds and three counts of honest services mail fraud.

The allegations stem from nearly a decade of payments totaling $134,000 the FBI said Vasquez received from a San Antonio public safety radio vendor that was awarded two multi-million radio contracts with the City of San Angelo. The payments were hidden, investigators claimed, as money used to hire Vasquez’s part-time passion, his rock-and-roll band called “Funky Munky.” The federal prosecutor claims the payments are for higher amounts the band did not normally receive for performances.

The trial has been delayed multiple times over the past two years, each time claiming the case was “complex” and more time was needed for trial preparations by the defense and prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey R. Haag is slated to try the case. Haag earned notoriety in the region by successfully getting the conviction of Bart Reagor, partner in the failed Lubbock car dealership group called Reagor Dykes. That trial ended in mid-October 2021 where Reagor was convicted of lying to an FDIC-insured bank but acquitted for bank fraud.

This may be the final delay of the Vasquez trial as the typical cause, “complex case,” was not used. Rather, Vasquez’s defense attorney stated to the judge that he had to tend to a death in the family and needed more time to prepare. Before this continuance was granted, the trial was slated to begin Feb. 7, 2022. Haag told the court he expects the trial to last four days.

Since his arrest two years ago, Vasquez has been free on bond. In late December, the judge amended the conditions for Vasquez’s release, allowing him to travel anywhere in the Northern District of Texas. In addition, Vasquez may travel in the Eastern and Western Districts of Texas with prior approval of his supervising officer.