Former aide and consultant close to U.S. Rep. Cuellar plead guilty and agree to aid investigation

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A top former aide to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar and a political and business consultant have agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to help the Democrat congressman from Texas launder more than $200,000 in bribes and to assist prosecutors in a federal criminal investigation, according to court documents unsealed this week.

Colin Strother, Cuellar’s former chief of staff and campaign manager, and Florencia Rendon, a business consultant and former chief of staff for former U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, struck plea deals in March to ensure their cooperation in a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into Cuellar and his wife.

The Cuellars have been charged with accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico, in exchange for advancing the interests of the country and the bank in the U.S.

Cuellar, 68, has said he and his wife Imelda Cuellar, 67, are innocent.

In addition to bribery and conspiracy, the couple face charges including wire fraud conspiracy, acting as agents of foreign principals and money laundering. If convicted, they face up to decades in prison and forfeiture of any property linked to proceeds from the alleged scheme.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Despite charges, few call for Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar to resign from office </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> How a Texas man is testing out-of-state abortions by asking a court to subpoena his