Sheriff Javier Salazar exposed and reported a bribery attempt involving a towing contract, leading to guilty pleas from two businessmen.
SAN ANTONIO — Sheriff Javier Salazar said it was an ordinary Wednesday, until it wasn’t.
Salazar said on April 16, 2025, he was at a lunch meeting with two businessmen he had known for years.
“I’ve always been comfortable around these folks. They’ve never, ever given any indication they would cross the line like this,” Salazar said at a morning news conference, while he was flanked by representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI and the IRS.
Salazar said everything changed when Muhummad Choudary and Anwar Tahir, from Mission Wrecker, said they would pay him $30,000 to use the power of his office to award a Bexar County towing contract to their company.
Of the moment he was completely blindsided, Salazar said, “Quite frankly, when it happened, at the moment of, my first instinct was to reach for my phone and try to record the conversation, but I’ll be honest with you! I was fumbling so bad that I couldn’t do it because it caught me so off guard!”
“Right off the bat I laid it out that, hey look, I can’t do that,” Salazar continued. “Even then he tried to do an end-around and make a different kind of offer.”
Salazar said he told the men no, and then reached out to the FBI to report the bribery attempt.
“I’ve been a law enforcement officer for 33 years and Sheriff for nine, and it is the first time that anyone has ever crossed the line with me,” Salazar said, adding that even with ten years of service in covert operations, he had never had such an offer. Salazar said once he met with the FBI and came up with a plan to move forward with an investigation, his mind was at ease.
“A lot of work went into this by a lot of folks that just have the best interest of the community in their heart,” Salazar said of the joint effort by all of the partners in the investigation.
That dogged work, the partners said, led to the announcement of two guilty pleas Friday.
“As I tell my cadets on day one in the academy, a penny is too much to take and a million dollars is not enough to sell your soul, to sell your integrity. You only get one chance to do that,” Salazar said.
The two men, Salazar said, now see the error of their ways.
“I think anybody else contemplating similar misconduct should absolutely think twice before doing that anywhere in this community,” Salazar continued. “We’re not going to stand for it.”
Eric Fuchs, the First Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas said, “Public confidence in our elected officials is the cornerstone of effective government. Today serves as a reminder to everyone here in the Western District of Texas that the integrity of public officials is not for sale.”
“When someone attempts through bribery to pad their own personal pockets with public money, it is our duty as law enforcement to act,” Fuchs added.
From the FBI, Alex Doran, who is the Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the San Antonio Field Office, said, “Public corruption cases are complex and often very time intensive, but the FBI remains committed to following the facts wherever they lead.”
Doran said their message is clear, people who put personal gain over following the law will be targeted and he closed by saying, “Anyone with information related to public corruption or attempted bribery is encouraged to come forward to the FBI.”
Rodrick Benton, with the IRS, said his organization added forensic accounting skills to the investigation.
“This case represents a true joint investigation with our partners, working hand in hand to help bring these targets to justice,” Benton said.
Choudary pled guilty Friday morning in federal court. Tahir did the same on April 1st. Both men have since posted bond and been released, pending a pre-sentencing investigation and a judge’s ruling on how much time they will serve in prison. Federal sentencing guidelines call for a maximum of five years.