A former deputy with the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office has been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for providing fake tips that led authorities to bogus drug busts, helping a local drug trafficking group operate undetected in the southern Texas border region.
Baldemar Cardenas, 39, was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine, per Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery. The McAllen resident was a deputy at the time of the offense.
