David R. Cortez
| David Richard Cortez, Sr. | |
 | |
County Commissioner (Place 4)
for Webb County, Texas | |
| In office 2000 – 2006 | |
Member of the Laredo City Council
| |
| In office 1992 – 2000 | |
| Born | April 16, 1934 New Gulf, Wharton County, Texas |
|---|---|
| Died | December 12, 2016 (aged 82) Laredo, Texas Resting place: |
| Nationality | Hispanic-American |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Margarita "Margie" S. Cortez (married 1954-2016, his death) |
| Children | David Cortez, Jr. Cynthia Cortez-Benavides (formerly Cynthia Brunner) |
| Residence | Laredo, Texas |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
David Richard Cortez Sr. (April 16. 1934 – December 12, 2016), was a Laredo businessman and a Democratic former commissioner for Webb County, Texas,[1] a post which he vacated after six years when he was imprisoned for bribery for three months in 2007.[2]
Background
Born in New Gulf in Wharton County, Texas, Cortez came to Laredo in the 1950s with his parents, Santana and Maria Ignacia Cortez, and seven brothers and six sisters. At the age of eighteen years, he entered into private business. He first opened a trading post at which he sold used furniture. He completed a tour of duty in the United States Army. and then began a 37-year career as a sales representative for Liggett and Myers, a large tobacco company now known as the Liggett Group. For thirty years he owned and managed two apartment complexes. He was a director of Falcon International Bank when that institution was known as Falcon National Bank.[3]
As a youth in New Gulf, Cortez was a golf caddy at the age of twelve and played the game with passion for the rest of his life. He headed the arrangements for the annual Lions Club high school football banquet and once enticed Roger Staubach to address the Laredo players.[4]
Political life
Prior to his time as county commissioner, Cortez was for eight years a member of the nominally nonpartisan Laredo City Council and was the mayor pro tem for four of those years.[4]
Cortez resigned from the commissioners court, to which he was last elected in 2002, when the bribery charge developed four years later in 2006. In a plea bargain, Cortez pleaded guilty, and U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen sentenced him in November 2006. Cortez surrendered to authorities in February 2007 at the low-security La Tuna facility in Anthony, Texas, near El Paso. He was released on May 4, 2007, but still faced probation for two years, including six months of home confinement, and a $25,000 fine.[2]
On Cortez's resignation, then Webb County (Administrative) Judge Louis H. Bruni, as empowered to do so under Texas law, appointed Cortez's daughter, then named Cynthia Cortez-Brunner, to complete her father's term.
Family and death
Cortez died in Laredo at the age of eighty-two. He was survived by his wife, Margarita "Margie" S. Cortez and three other children in addition to Cynthia Cortez-Benavides (formerly Cynthia Cortez-Brunner), David Cortez Jr. (wife Maribel), Hector Cortez, and Rene Cortez (wife Teresa), and ten grandchildren. His services were held at the Roman Catholic San Martin de Porres Church. He is interred at the City of Laredo Cemetery.[3]
References
- ↑ David Cortez. Mylife.com. Retrieved on February 23, 2020.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Inmate Locator: David Cortez; Inmate No. 44205179. Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved on February 23, 2020.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 David R. Cortez. The Laredo Morning Times (December 13, 2016). Retrieved on February 23, 2020.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 David R. Cortez (1934-2016). Findagrave.com. Retrieved on February 23, 2020.
