SAN ANTONIO – Two men have pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar in an attempt to obtain a towing contract, the FBI and the Department of Justice announced Friday.
In a news conference at the United States Attorney’s Office on the North Side, authorities identified the men as Muhammad Choudary, 78, and Anwar Tahir.
Choudary owned Mission Wrecker, a towing and heavy-duty recovery business that operated within Bexar County.
In late March 2025, federal officials said Bexar County began soliciting bids for towing and wrecking services for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and Bexar County Constable Offices.
Choudary used an associate, Tahir, “as a middleman,” according to the DOJ.
Choudary and Tahir told Salazar at an April 16, 2025, meeting that they would pay the sheriff $30,000 to use his position as a way to provide the towing contract to Choudhary’s company.
On the following day, federal officials said Salazar reported the bribery attempt to the FBI.
The FBI then introduced an “intermediary” that posed as a representative for Salazar. At a follow-up meeting, Tahir offered to pay Salazar, through the representative, $10,000 upfront plus a $25,000 payment annually for the sheriff’s assistance to provide the towing contract to Choudary’s company.
Choudary pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and faces up to five years in federal prison. Tahir pleaded guilty to the same charge on March 31.
“Today serves as a reminder to everyone here in the Western District of Texas that the integrity of public officials is not for sale,” said Erik Fuchs, assistant U.S. Attorney for the DOJ’s Western District of Texas.
A federal district court judge will determine Choudary and Tahir’s sentences in federal prison.
The FBI and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) also investigated the case.
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