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Sheriff Javier Salazar, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, and IRS‑CI provides details on two bribery plea deals
Muhammad Choudary, 78, pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges after attempting to bribe the Bexar County Sheriff to secure a lucrative county towing contract.
BEXAR COUNTY, Texas - A Bexar County towing company owner pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to conspiring to bribe the Bexar County Sheriff in a failed bid to secure a lucrative county towing contract, federal prosecutors announced.
Towing company owner pleads guilty
Muhammad Choudary, 78, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, according to U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas. He faces up to five years in federal prison.
The backstory:
Court documents show that Choudary, who owned and operated a vehicle towing and heavy-duty recovery business in Bexar County, tried to manipulate a public bidding process launched in March 2025 for towing and wrecking services for local sheriff and constable offices.
Prosecutors said Choudary used an associate, Anwar Tahir, to act as a middleman. During an April 16, 2025, lunch meeting arranged by Tahir, the two men explicitly offered the Bexar County Sheriff $30,000 in exchange for steering the contract to Choudary’s company.
The sheriff reported the bribery attempt to the FBI the following day.
An FBI investigator, acting as a representative for the sheriff, stepped in. During a meeting, Tahir, acting on Choudary's behalf, changed the offer to $10,000 cash up front, with annual payments of $25,000 for the life of the contract.
What they're saying:
According to Mission Wrecker's president and director, Vernon Oliver, Choudary is his business partner, but his "personal legal issue" does not involve him or Mission Wrecker Service.
"When this issue surfaced, Mission removed him from the company as an officer and director," said Oliver in a social media statement. "I am the President and Director and will work to continue to keep Mission moving forward and to support the 60 plus families that count on us every day along with our loyal customers. Thank you for your support! God Bless!"
Tahir previously pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy charge on March 31.
During a news conference with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office and the FBI, Sheriff Salazar said, "You know, as I tell my cadets on day one in the academy, a penny is too much to take, and $1 million is not enough to sell your soul, to sell your integrity. You only get one chance to do that."
What's next:
A federal district court judge will sentence Choudary at a later date following the completion of a pre-sentence investigation. The case was investigated jointly by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Blackwell.
The Source: Information in this article is from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Texas.