RIO GRANDE CITY – The juvenile probation officer arrested Thursday was apprehended for his connection to the same operation involving the Starr County Tax Assessor Office.

Reynaldo Alaniz is charged with two counts of tampering with government documents. Two other men, Esteban Martinez and Jaime Sanchez, are also in custody.

Starr County district attorney Omar Escobar said it’s related to fraudulently obtaining vehicle titles.

According to the district attorney’s office, the arrests took a long time because the district attorney’s office and Department of Public Safety followed the paper trail. They reviewed thousands of vehicle registrations and connected the case to the suspects.

These arrests were under Operation Falling Starr. The operation also led to the arrest of 15 people including the former tax assessor collector.

The suspects were investigated following allegations that more than $700,000 went missing from the office.

The district attorney’s office also investigated alleged “phony” vehicle registrations linked to drug trafficking.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS is told new arrests developed from the tax office case.

The spin-off investigation has affected how long it’s taken to prosecute some suspects indicted in the 2015 arrests.  Some of the suspects have pled guilty in that case.