In last week's Chronicle/News, in a front page article written by editor & publisher Paul Whitworth, there was a serious error concerning the reputation of Raymondville High School teacher Richard Garcia.

The newspaper article identified Garcia as one of four individuals arrested on October, 13, 2006 after being indicted by a county grand jury for bribery, theft, extortion and conspiracy.

Richard Garcia was not indicted by the grand jury and he was not accused of committing any of the acts mentioned above. Those who were arrested and charged following a grand jury investigation were Richard Garcia's wife, Gloria Reyes-Garcia, her niece Andrea Sias-Espinosa and her husband, Rene Espinosa.

Those charges were subsequently dismissed by then District and County Attorney Juan Guerra, on June 1, 2007.

The charges were refiled by special prosecutor Gustavo "Gus" Garza on Sept. 13, 2007 against the same three defendants. Again, Richard Garcia was not among those indicted, or jailed.

The second set of charges were dismissed by State District Judge Manuel Banales of Corpus Christi on October 26, 2007 after he learned that the special prosecutor had not taken an oath required by State law.

Richard Garcia is a local resident who enjoys a good reputation. He has been employed for many years as an agriculture instructor at Raymondville High School and is a military veteran. The editor regrets any discomfort his error may have caused Mr. Garcia.