McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — The FBI on Monday raided the offices of the Webb County Sheriff’s Office, located in the border town of Laredo, Texas.

In a Facebook post on Monday afternoon, Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar said: “The focus of the investigation is on Assistant Chief Ricardo ‘Rick’ Rodriguez.”

Cuellar said the probe centers around Rodriguez’s disinfecting company, Disinfect ProMaster, which Rodriguez operated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cuellar said agents have asked him questions about employees going to daycares, churches and county buildings to disinfect for coronavirus. Cuellar said this service was provided through the sheriff’s office, and not through Rodriguez’s company, according to the statement.

Cuellar said his department is being transparent and turning over all and any documents requested by the FBI.

“All employees are held to higher standards, whether on or off duty. They must follow policies and procedures when performing secondary employment duties, such as clocking in and out of the county time clock. If an employee does something wrong, it is on them,” said Cuellar, who is the brother of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Laredo. “While I cannot monitor their behavior 24/7, their behavior must match the oath of office to which they swore.”

According to the Laredo Morning Times, Rodriguez has been in trouble with the law recently. On May 4, he was served with an arrest warrant charging him with assault on an EMS worker. He is out on bond on that charge and has been on administrative leave from the sheriff’s department.

Rodriguez also is a board trustee for United Independent School District.

FBI agents on Monday also met with district officials, “regarding the award of a service contract in 2021 to Disinfect ProMaster,” the district said in a statement.

“The District has fully cooperated with the FBI and will continue to comply with their investigation and any request for information. The District is confident that all applicable laws and District policies were adhered to when the service contract was awarded to Disinfect ProMaster,” the district said.

The United ISD board recently held a meeting regarding Rodriguez’s arrest but voted unanimously not to take action on removing him from his post, according to the Laredo Morning Times.

The district said Monday that they have called a special meeting for Thursday “to discuss this matter further.” District officials added that “neither the District’s administration nor the Board of Trustees has the legal authority to remove Mr. Rodriguez from the Board.”

LAREDO, TX (KGNS) - A woman is injured following a stabbing in south Laredo.

The incident happened at around 3 p.m. Saturday near the 3900 block of Guadalajara.

According to Laredo Police, the suspect fled the location and the woman is in stable condition.

The case remains under investigation.

LAREDO, TX. (KGNS) - A Laredo port of entry was closed to the traveling public for nearly two hours Thursday.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officials were conducing a drill which caused the temporary closure of the Gateway to the America’s Bridge; however, Nuevo Laredo officials are reporting otherwise.

Mexican authorities claim Russian migrants were trying to cross into the U.S. without the proper or correct documentation.

Although U.S. officials have not commented on the matter, Mexican authorities say it was 19 Russian migrants among them were children.

LAREDO, Tx. (KGNS) - Your supervisor may not like it, but today is National Leave the Office Early Day!

Observed every June second on a weekday, the day reminds hard-working Americans to take a little time for themselves.

About one third of Americans work more than 40 hours a week and with today’s economy, many people are working two jobs or more, logging 60 to 80 hours per week.

National Leave the Office Early Day was started by an employee productivity specialist, whose goal was to remind people to take some time for themselves and work towards finding the right balance between working to live versus living to work.

LAREDO, Tx. (KGNS) - The fight against the fentanyl crisis continues.

Recently the Laredo Police Department reported over 30 drug overdoses in the Gateway City; however, a bill that could soon be turned into a law aims to reduce the number of drug related deaths.

Texas House Bill 6 could designate unsolicited fentanyl dealers who sell the drug illegally to someone. If that person ends up dying after consumption, the seller could be held responsible and possibly charged with murder.

After the bill passed the senate floor in a 30 to one vote, it is now sitting on the Texas Governor’s desk waiting to be signed into state law.

During a recent Texas Legislative session, state lawmakers passed several house bills such as ending Covid-19 restrictions as well as additional funds to help secure the border.

State Representative Richard Pena Raymond said he was in favor of the bill and even added that he has tried to push similar bills in the past.

“That’s something that I started pushing many years ago, not in reference to fentanyl, we were having a lot of heroin overdose here in Laredo, especially amongst teenagers,” said Raymond. “Now that we have fentanyl and so many people are dying from fentanyl poisoning, we passed this bill, which you could be charged with murder if we found out you were the one who gave that person or sell that person with fentanyl.”

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.

According to the Texas Health and Human Services, the bill would allow for harsher penalties for those caught producing and distributing fentanyl including life in prison.