U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney's Office
Western District of Texas
Johnny Sutton, U.S. Attorney
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Shana Jones, Special Assistant Daryl Fields, Public Information Officer (210) 384-7440 |
| Juen 8, 2007 |
United States Attorney Johnny Sutton announced that this afternoon attorney John Travis Ketner, former Chief of Staff to the El Paso County Judge, pleaded guilty to his role in a conspiracy to defraud El Paso County by fraudulently securing vendor contracts.
Appearing before United States District Judge Frank Montalvo, Ketner pleaded guilty to a four-count Information filed by the United States Attorney’s Office. The charges include two counts of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. As a result, Ketner faces up to five years in federal prison on the bribery conspiracy count; up to 20 years in federal prison on each of the three remaining charges. No sentencing date has been scheduled.
This investigation–conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation–continues. Assistant United States Attorney Debra Kanof is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
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