Three Valleys Municipal Water District board member Xavier Alvarez has decided to plead guilty to one federal misdemeanor count of falsely claiming to be a Medal of Honor recipient, according to an article by the Daily Bulletin's Will Bigham. The Bigham article, which we actually found on the San Bernardino Sun's website, said:
As part of his agreement with the federal government, Alvarez has agreed to plead guilty to one misdemeanor count of violating the Stolen Valor Act, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian.
Missakian said he received the plea agreement Tuesday. He said he would formally file it with the court today.
Alvarez has also agreed to sentencing guidelines that would include probation only, with no prison time, Missakian said.
The guilty plea and the terms of the agreement will not become final until Alvarez's court appearance Monday. Alvarez could still back out of the agreement before that date, Missakian said.
The judge may also decide to issue Alvarez a different sentence than the one outlined in the plea agreement, Missakian said.
As part of the agreement, Alvarez will still be able to appeal his case on First Amendment grounds to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Missakian said.
The article did not say how any of this affects Alvarez's position as Pomona's representative to the Three Valleys Board. Since the conviction is not a felony, Alvarez would not be disqualified from office. However, if he had to be incarcerated for an extended period, he could be removed by the other board members if he didn't show up to enough meetings.
And, the article does mention that there other possible charges regarding Alvarez's falsely enrolling his ex-wife on his Three Valleys health coverage as a spouse.
The article further stated that the Asst. U.S. Attorney Missakian expects Alvarez to appeal the case on First Amendment grounds.
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