During his trial and testimony Villalobos vehemently denied all wrongdoings and said that he had never requested any money from lawyers to have appointments with him.
He was convicted, among other charges, of accepting a bribe of $80,000 to allow a convicted murderer to escape. The convict Amit Livingston had murdered his girlfriend Hermila Hernandez, in 2007.
According to prosecutors, Villalobos set up his former law partner Lucio to represent the three children of Livingston’s murdered girlfriend, and both the criminal and civil cases moved through the system to fortuitously land up in the court presided over by Abel Lima.
Lima convicted and sentence Livingston on the same day, thus immediately making his bond money available for use in civil settlement. However, at the same time, Lima allowed Livingston to have 60 days before reporting to prison – in actuality releasing him without bond.
Livingston disappeared as expected and has not yet been traced.
For handling the civil case, Lucio received $200, 000 in attorney’s fees, and gave Villalobos a kickback of $80,000. The duo gave the judge, Lima, only $10,000 for his part.
At Villalobos’ trial, Lima pleaded guilty to racketeering.
Villalobos is a two-term district attorney, and he also ran for Congress in 2012, though losing out in the Democratic primary. He remains free on bond but faces up to 20 years in federal prison. His sentencing is scheduled for August.
