FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PARTICIPANT IN HOME REMODELING SCHEME SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON

San Antonio , Texas ; December 5, 2006 : Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed announced today, that Apolonio Hernandez, age 42, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity and Theft over $200,000. 399 th District Court Judge Juanita Vasquez-Gardner imposed the sentence. Hernandez participated in a home remodeling scam with co-defendant Daniel Delafuente from 2002 through 2005. Hernandez and Delafuente posed as legitimate home remodelers and accepted large upfront payments for work they never intended to complete.

Delafuente, the alleged ringleader, accepted the money from the homeowners while Hernandez did demolition work on the homes to convince the homeowners work was in progress. Once the homeowners were enticed into paying the money, Delafuente and his crew disappeared and the work was not completed. More than 50 Bexar County homeowners were victimized in the scam. Hernandez was described as a worker who assisted Delafuente in facilitating the scheme but who was not a mastermind or director of the operation. Evidence indicated Delafuente was even violent with Hernandez on occasion.

Last month Delafuente was sentenced to 90 years in prison after a jury trial. Two other participants in the scheme are still awaiting trial. Delafuente's brother, Rudy Delafuente, is charged for his alleged participation in posing as a worker in the homes of some of the victims. Delafuente's son, Joshua Delafuente, is charged for his alleged involvement in hiding the profits of this scheme.

For more information, contact Adriana Biggs, Chief of the White Collar Crime Division at (210) 335-2404.