Convicted Asst. City Manager shows up to work after pleading guilty to drug charges

PROGRESO, Texas ( ValleyCentral ) — Less than 24 hours after pleading guilty to federal drug charges, Progreso Assistant City Manager Frank Alanis showed up for work.

Alanis plead guilty to helping drug smugglers Tuesday and the next morning showed up to work like a normal day at the city hall as the second highest salaried employee earning $96,000 a year.

On Tuesday, Alanis worked out a plea deal with his attorney Carlos A. Garcia and federal prosecutors.

He admitted to providing a drug trafficking organization with financial support. The cash allowed smugglers to buy tractor-trailers, which transported cocaine from Progreso to other parts of the United States.

Frank is facing life in prison, but that’s unlikely.

Alanis served the city as school board president from May 2016 to May 2024. During that time, prosecutors indicted him for working with drug organizations to ship cocaine from Brownsville to Houston. He reportedly used his mom’s house to stash the cash.

The case against Alanis is part of a federal investigation that revealed links between drug smugglers and politicians in Progreso — including his own brother, Jerry Alanis who served as mayor until he was arrested in the same case.

Frank is set to be sentenced in January. Meanwhile, it’s unclear when or if he will be fired between now and then.

His attorney said Frank hasn’t been subpoenaed to testify in Jerry’s trial and doesn’t anticipate federal prosecutor to have him testify against his own brother

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