Former Texas federal juror convicted of jury tampering
March 2nd, 2010 - 4:02 am ICT by BNO NewsHOUSTON, TEXAS (BNO NEWS) – A former Texas federal juror was convicted of jury tampering, prosecutors said on Monday.
Maximino Gonzalez, aka Max, 36, of Palmview, Texas obstructed and impeded a jury trial pending in the McAllen division of the Southern District of Texas when he served on the jury of the 2008 trial of two brothers charged with drug trafficking which ended in a mistrial.
During the trial and after witness testimony, Gonzalez contacted an unindicted drug dealer implicated by trial testimony, and contacted and met with Guadalupe and Abraham Hernandez, culprits in the trial in which he was sitting as a juror, to discuss the trial testimony.
According to fellow jurors, Gonzalez offered to convict the two remaining defendants (Mariano Alvarez and Eden Flores) in exchange for the acquittal of the Hernandez brothers. During jury discussions, Gonzalez met with and told the Hernandez brothers that the jury had questions about the availability of obtaining UPS labels, a matter raised during trial. Gonzalez accompanied the Hernandez brothers to a UPS drop box and obtained several labels. That evening, Guadalupe Hernandez instructed Gonzalez to “make every effort” to get them off.
In July 2009, Gonzalez voluntarily provided a three-page hand-written signed statement to FBI agents admitting his illegal conduct. Gonzalez now faces a maximum 20 years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine.
The original narcotics case was re-tried in Houston. That trial resulted in the conviction of both brothers and their two co-defendants. Guadalupe Hernandez has been sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, his brother, Abraham Hernandez, was sentenced to 21 years and the two remaining defendants received life sentences.
“Our system of justice is rooted in a fair and impartial jury who will evaluate the evidence and render a true verdict,” said a U.S. attorney. “When a juror violates his oath, justice suffers and both the accused and the public are victims. This office will continue to strictly enforce violations that disrupt the administration of justice,” he added.
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Tags: aka max, bno, brother abraham, drug trafficking, fellow jurors, hernandez brothers, illegal conduct, impartial jury, juror, jury trial, life sentences, mariano alvarez, maximino, mistrial, palmview texas, southern district of texas, trial testimony, true verdict, ups, witness testimony