7 people convicted in family-run gambling business after HSI, partner investigation

LAREDO, Texas — Seven South Texans were convicted April 24 for conspiring to conduct illegal gambling in Webb and Zapata counties. The convictions follow a joint investigation between Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Laredo Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Webb County District Attorney’s Office.

On April 24, Hilda Diana Guerra-Villarreal, 74; Raul Rene Villarreal, 51; and Alma Urania Garcia, 33, all of Zapata, pleaded guilty to conspiring to conduct and conducting illegal gambling in Webb and Zapata counties. Four others — Rodolfo Ricardo Villarreal Jr., 37; Juan Vasco, 52; Ruben Samuel Villarreal, 28; and Maria Mendieta, 42 — entered their pleas to the same charges in 2022. Rodolfo Villareal Jr., Vasco and Ruben Villareal are from Zapata, and Mendieta is from Bruni.

The investigation revealed a complex conspiracy that began in 2019. As part of the scheme, various members of the Villarreal family conspired to operate a family-run, illegal gambling business at multiple establishments in Webb and Zapata Counties near the city of Laredo. This included the Lucky Spins (Red Barn) in Bruni, the Desert Diamond in Falcon, and Golden Amusement in Zapata. Members of the family and their close associates owned and operated the establishments and made illegal cash payouts to customers.

As part of her plea, Guerra-Villarreal agreed to forfeit an estimated $2.6 million in the forms of land, buildings and gambling machines.

U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana will sentence each person at a later date. At those hearings, each faces up to five years in prison and possible $250,000 fines.

All seven people have been permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco J. Rodriguez, Mary Ellen Smyth, Gerard Cantu and Matthew Isaac of the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of DHS, responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.