KRGV.com

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) - An attorney accused of paying kickbacks to former state District Judge Abel Limas has been convicted in the first trial stemming from a four-year federal investigation into judicial corruption in Brownsville.

Jurors on Monday found Port Isabel lawyer Ray Marchan guilty of all seven counts he faced. He was the first of 12 people swept up in the investigation of Limas to face trial. Limas has pleaded guilty to racketeering.

Prosecutors accused Marchan of paying Limas more than $11,000 in 2008 in exchange for appointments and favorable decisions. Marchan's defense argued he was loaning money to a friend.

But Limas spent four days on the stand as the government's key witness, describing how he accepted more than $250,000 in kickbacks and bribes from several attorneys, including Marchan.