Texas judge pleads guilty to fixing cases for car repairs

By Jim Forsyth SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A veteran Texas criminal court judge pleaded guilty on Monday to fixing cases in exchange for car repairs and faces two years in a federal prison. Angus McGinty, 51, resigned last year as a state district judge in San Antonio after he was indicted. McGinty could have gotten up to 20 years had he gone to trial and been convicted on several counts relating the bribery. Instead, he pled guilty to one count of honest services wire fraud, as part of the plea bargain that requires 24 months in prison, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said McGinty agreed to accept about $6,600 in payments, mainly in the form of repairs to the judge's two ageing Mercedes cars, in exchange for favorable rulings on behalf of clients of attorney Alberto Acevedo. U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez said the McGinty case should "serve as a reminder to those who occupy positions of public trust that they must act with integrity." A state district judge in Texas earns a salary of $140,000 a year. "I accepted these benefits knowing that the purpose behind them was to influence my official discretion in favor of Mr. Acevedo and his clients," McGinty said in a statement released by prosecutors. Acevedo pled guilty last year and faces up to 10 years in prison at his sentencing, which has not yet been set. As part of his plea agreement, Acevedo was to testify against McGinty. (Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Eric Walsh)