A South Texas county commissioner has pleaded guilty to coercing a public servant and must resign his office.
Cameron County Commissioner Ernie Hernandez was indicted in January on several counts related to improper use of his influence to protect an illegal gambling establishment.
The Cameron County District Attorney's office announced Friday that Hernandez agreed to enter a pretrial diversion program and to resign from office immediately.
In return, prosecutors agreed to drop all but one of the counts. If he successfully completes the year-long pretrial diversion program, the remaining count will be dismissed.
The dismissed counts included abuse of official capacity, misuse of official information, witness tampering, tampering with government records and obstruction or retaliation.
