Socorro Independent School District trustees Pablo Barrera and Ricardo “Richard’ Castellano, and his wife Gabriela Castellano, allegedly targeted district employees at schools where they had personal connections, according to indictments released Friday.
Ricardo Castellano, 61, and Gabriela Castellano, 57, were indicted on two counts each of obstruction or retaliation involving Gabriela Elliott, a former principal at Bill Sybert School, where Gabriela Castellano was a third-grade teacher, according to an indictment filed April 25 to the El Paso County District Clerk.
Their scheme against Elliott began on Aug. 21, 2021, and continued until March 30, 2022, according to the indictments. No specific actions are mentioned in the indictment, but El Paso Matters in 2022 obtained an audio recording that showed the Castellanos trying to have Elliott removed as principal.
In the recording, Barrera boasted that he and Ricardo Castellano were “school board gods.”
More: El Paso’s second-largest hotel, first Marriott, getting multimillion-dollar renovation