Former Edcouch City Manager Victor Hugo De La Cruz was sentenced Thursday to 12 months in prison in connection with a bribery investigation.

De La Cruz will serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

De La Cruz pleaded guilty in May to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States. He was arrested alongside former Edcouch Mayor Pro-Tem Rene Adan Flores in September 2024.

RELATED STORY: Former Edcouch city manager pleads guilty in federal bribery investigation

According to an indictment, De La Cruz and Flores solicited bribe payments in 2019 from the owner of a Brownsville business that provides marketing services throughout the Rio Grande Valley.

Flores was sentenced in June to 12 months and one day in connection with the bribery investigation.

During the Friday sentencing, De La Cruz told the judge he accepts full responsibility for his actions.

"If that is what God wants for me, then there is a need for me in there," De La Cruz told Channel 5 News following his sentencing.

When asked if he had a message for the community, De La Cruz said "Let's look at the small things and get away from all the political climate we are so used to. Let's vote for people that are worth something."

During the sentencing, De La Cruz asked Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane if he could start his prison time after his wife's surgery.

Judge Crane approved the request, and ordered De La Cruz to self-surrender on August 22, 2025.