Former Midland Independent School District Warehouse Operations Buyer Pleads Guilty To Stealing From The District

Frank Gonzales Carrasco, age 45 and former Warehouse Operations Buyer for Midland Independent School District (MISD), faces up to ten years in federal prison after admitting to stealing construction materials from the school district announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman.

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Counts in Midland this morning, Carrasco pleaded guilty to one count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. According to the factual basis filed in this case, between July 2009 and January 2012, Carrasco was employed by MISD as the Operations Buyer at the warehouse.  His job responsibilities included ordering and managing the inventory necessary to complete work at MISD facilities.  By pleading guilty, Carrasco admitted that during his employment, he ordered large amounts of copper pipe and electrical wire on behalf of MISD which exceeded any work orders anticipated by the school district.  Carrasco then took the extra copper pipe and electrical wire—more than 18,000 pounds--to Recycle Midland where he recycled it for cash.  Carrasco admittedly collected $46,041.71 from Recycle Midland for copper pipe and electrical wire that originally cost MISD more than $140,000.  To conceal his scheme, Carrasco hid the theft of the materials by adding pipe or wire to work orders for jobs that did not require it or had already been completed.

In addition to the prison time, Carrasco faces up to a $250,000 fine as well as restitution to MISD.  Carrasco is on a $10,000 bond pending sentencing.  A sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Midland Police Department with assistance from Midland Independent School District internal auditors.  Assistant United States Attorney V. LaTawn Warsaw is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.