Central Basin Municipal Water District’s board has placed General Manager Alex Rojas on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an independent investigation into the legitimacy of contracts tied to a company accused of paying bribes to Rojas at his previous job.
Though the water agency’s board approved the investigation back in September, it could not reach a consensus on what to do with Rojas, who continued to lead the district despite his arrest in 2022 for allegedly accepting bribes while he was the superintendent in the Bassett Unified School District.
A narrow majority wanted to place him on leave over the potential connection to his criminal case, but the district’s general counsel at the time advised that protections in Rojas’ contract required the support of six of seven board members to take any “adverse action” against him.
The board hired a new attorney in December who appears to have a different interpretation. This time, the vote to place Rojas on leave Wednesday, Feb. 7 passed with four votes in favor, one against and two board members absent.
Rojas could not be reached for comment.
The board’s vice president, Juan Garza, said the leave is effective immediately and will last until the investigation into the district’s work with Capstone Partners Group is resolved and a related forensic audit is completed.
The contract with Capstone faced little scrutiny until last year, when a deposition revealed that Capstone owner Manuel Jaramillo secretly worked for the Del Terra Group, a company that county prosecutors allege paid $400,000 in bribes to Rojas while he served as superintendent in Bassett. Capstone, set up with help from Del Terra’s owner, also paid Del Terra directly for the use of at least one other employee, according to Jaramillo’s testimony.
Garza stressed that Rojas would be able to return to duty if the findings determine that Capstone’s hiring was above board.
“We are confident his return would be…
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