BROWNSVILLE — Two county employees who filed a lawsuit against Cameron County seeking back pay, vacation benefits, seniority and attorneys fees have reached a settlement.
Jose A. Mireles Jr. and Pedro Garza, who in 2016 were arrested along with exonerated Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector Tony Yzaguirre Jr. on public corruption charges, sued the county late last year.
Francisco Zabarte, who represents the men, said he could not discuss the details of the settlement because the parties signed a confidentiality agreement.
During an investigation dubbed “Operation Dirty Deeds” by the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office, Mireles, Garza, Yzaguirre, Omar Sanchez-Paz and Claudia Elisa Sanchez, were accused of participating in a scheme to take bribes to illegally register vehicles.
On Feb. 4, a Nueces County jury in Corpus Christi found Yzaguirre not guilty, and charges against all of the county employees were dismissed.
Yzaguirre has since had his record expunged and has said the other employees charged are working on expunction cases of their own.
Eventually, Mireles and Garza were required to retake the civil service exam and were rehired to different jobs without full vacation benefits or seniority, according to the lawsuit.
The men complained that other employees in similar situations, including a former court bailiff, had back pay reinstated when charges were dropped, according to the lawsuit.
On Thursday, Mireles and Garza filed a motion asking a federal magistrate judge to dismiss the case, informing the court they had reached a settlement.