Bond for Nogales, AZ, mayor set at $250,000 in bribery, theft, fraud and money laundering case
The mayor of Nogales, Ariz. shuffled shackled into a Santa Cruz County court this afternoon wearing a striped jail suit and was accused of having access to unexplained millions of dollars.
Earlier in the day Octavio Garcia-Von Borstel had been arrested in connection with a criminal indictment on multiple charges including bribery, theft, fraud and money laundering. Garcia-Von Borstel, 29, was arrested at his office at the Nogales City Hall Tuesday morning while search warrants were being conducted at his home, business and City Hall office, according to a news release from the state Attorney General’s Office.
The mayor’s father, Octavio Suarez Garcia, 59, of Nogales, was also indicted and arrested Tuesday. He faces several charges that include fraud, theft and money laundering.
Justice of the Peace Mary Helen Maley set bail for Garcia-Von Borstel and his father at $250,000 each. She also granted prosecutors’ request to examine the source of the money if the defendants post a cash bond. The reason for the request was related to money that investigators say they saw passing through defendants’ bank accounts, said Assistant Attorney General Kim Ortiz.
“There was over $10 million that ran through these accounts in the last 24 months,” she said.
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Octavio Garcia-Von Borstel
Photo courtesy Arizona Attorney General’s Office