Texas town’s mayor, school board president both accused of trafficking coke, feds say
The mayor of a Texas town was recently arrested and accused of helping run a cocaine trafficking conspiracy with his brother and others, according to federal officials and news outlets.
Gerardo Alanis, mayor of the south Texas town of Progreso, was taken into custody March 18, according to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court of Southern Texas.
In the documents, federal officials accuse Alanis of taking part in a trafficking scheme involving more than 80 pounds of cocaine, which he did “intentionally possess with intent to distribute.”
Three other men are also named in the documents, including his brother, Frank Javier Alanis.
Alanis’ arrest comes about five months after his brother, who was arrested on drug charges in October in connection to the same plot, according to a Department of Justice news release. The 40-year-old was serving as school board president and assistant city manager at the time of his Oct. 13 arrest.
McClatchy News reached out to the city manager’s office for comment regarding Mayor Alanis’ arrest, but did not immediately hear back.
These arrests come as no surprise to Hidalgo County Precinct 1 Constable Celestino Avila Jr., who told KVEO that corruption among the town’s leadership is not new.
“It seems like it’s the same circus … all they do is change the clowns,” he told the station, adding that while many Progreso residents may take issue with the Alanis family, the family is very influential, and people are afraid to speak out against them.
“They have them pretty much by the throat,” Avila said. “They can’t say or do anything.”
Progreso has a population of about 5,500 people. It’s about 2 miles north of the Mexico border and a roughly 255-mile drive south from San Antonio.
No attorney was listed for Alanis.
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