Ex-Lawmaker Charged With Racketeering

WASHINGTON —  Former Rep. Albert G. Bustamante of Texas and his wife have been charged in a 10-count indictment that accuses him of receiving thousands of dollars in payoffs and other illegal acts, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

It said Bustamante, a Democrat who served in Congress from 1985 until last month, was charged with conducting the affairs of his office as a criminal racketeering enterprise through the receipt of bribes and illegal gifts.

The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in San Antonio and announced by the Justice Department in Washington, seeks the forfeiture of profits from the alleged racketeering activity, estimated at more than $340,000.

Seven counts of the indictment charge that Bustamante received illegal gratuities in exchange for official acts performed in Congress. His wife, Rebecca, a San Antonio attorney, was charged in three of the counts with aiding and abetting the commission of the alleged offenses.

The indictment alleges that Bustamante received a $35,000 bribe in 1986 from unnamed individuals to help a firm obtain the renewal of a food concession contract for an Air Force base.

It charges that in 1987 an illegal payment of $30,000 was made to Bustamante from State Realty Inc. The money allegedly was disguised to appear as a payment for legal services by his wife, even though she had done no work for the firm.

The indictment also alleges that Bustamante received a loan guarantee and the promise of future loans from people controlling a San Antonio firm that sought a potentially lucrative television broadcast license from the federal government.

Bustamante was defeated in the November election by Republican Henry Bonilla.