Third person pleads guilty in probe related to bribery charges against US Rep. Cuellar of Texas

By JIM VERTUNO
Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Federal investigators have secured a third guilty plea in connection with an investigation into U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, who is accused of accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico. Irada Akhoundova of Houston pleaded guilty on May 1 to acting as an agent for Azerbaijan without registering with federal officials. Details of her guilty plea were unsealed May 9. Federal authorities charged Cuellar and his wife Imelda with accepting the money in exchange for the congressman advancing the interests of the former Soviet republic and the bank. He says they are innocent.