{"id":333621,"date":"2026-06-12T13:35:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T13:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/333621\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T13:35:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T13:35:17","slug":"texas-dem-bragged-about-getting-career-criminal-bandmate-out-of-jail-who-went-on-to-sexually-assault-8-year-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/333621\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Dem bragged about getting career criminal bandmate ‘out of jail’ who went on to sexually assault 8-year-old"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON \u2014 Latin Grammy winner and Texas House Democratic candidate Bobby Pulido once bragged about getting his\u00a0longtime bandmate Frankie Caballero<\/a>, who went on to be convicted of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl, \u201cout of jail,\u201d The Post has learned.<\/p>\n

Pulido told comedian Jose Luis Zagar on\u00a0a May 2019 YouTube show<\/a>\u00a0that Caballero \u2014 who had at that point served four years in prison for indecent sexual contact with an 8-year-old girl \u2014 was a \u201cmaster\u201d keyboard player.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can do anything with the accordion,\u201d the singer said, according to a translation by Laura Rodriguez O\u2019Dwyer of ProntoTranslations<\/a>,\u00a0who also works as a New York state court interpreter. \u201cBut get this, they locked him up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Latin Grammy winner and House Democratic candidate Bobby Pulido (left) once bragged about getting \u201cout of jail\u201d his\u00a0longtime bandmate Frankie Caballero (right), who has a lengthy rap sheet. Frankie Caballero \/ Facebook<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember when I started out, I went to get him out of jail,\u201d Pulido added, without referencing what he was jailed for. Other translators indicated that the word for \u201cjail\u201d was a slang term that could be interpreted as \u201cprison\u201d or the colloquial English \u201cslammer.\u201d It\u2019s unclear whether Pulido visited Caballero in a prison or a jail.<\/p>\n

The resurfaced interview suggests Pulido\u2019s knowledge of his bandmate\u2019s criminal history was more extensive than his campaign previously stated \u2014 and just the latest instance in which his music background has drawn scrutiny<\/a> in a close race with his GOP opponent.<\/p>\n

Court records indicate Caballero posted bail \u2014 either through a personal recognizance bond, surety bond or with cash \u2014 after several arrests between 1990 and 2000, as Pulido was ramping up his music career. <\/p>\n

The accordionist was also sentenced to four years in prison in May 2014 for indecent sexual contact with a minor that resulted in Caballero registering as a sex offender \u2014 but that didn\u2019t stop him from touring with Pulido after his release,\u00a0The Post previously reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The New Yorker<\/a>,\u00a0The New York Times<\/a>,\u00a0The Wall Street Journal<\/a>\u00a0and other outlets have all cited the report in articles highlighting Pulido\u2019s repeated appearances at quincea\u00f1eras, a Latino coming-of-age ceremony for teen girls.<\/p>\n

Pulido, who is challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz in Texas\u2019 15th Congressional District this November, did not specify to which charge he was referring in the Zagar interview, but his campaign previously acknowledged the singer was aware of Caballero\u2019s drug problems.<\/p>\n

As he was launching his career in the mid-1990s, Pulido\u00a0(pictured) recruited\u00a0Caballero to play in the band that recorded the Tejano singer\u2019s debut album. Getty Images<\/p>\n

A Pulido campaign spokesperson said that the musician\u2019s comments were meant to convey having given Caballero a chance to perform but did not clarify whether he picked him up from a jail or prison. \u201cBobby Pulido did not post his [Caballero\u2019s] bail,\u201d the rep added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis desperate smear campaign won\u2019t distract South Texas voters from the fact Monica voted to gut their healthcare, raise their grocery bills, and drive up gas prices,\u201d the spokesperson also said.<\/p>\n

Rene Ortega, Jr., a bondsman and member of the Hidalgo County Bail Bond Board<\/a>, said that \u201cclerk\u2019s records typically won\u2019t show the name of a bondsman\u2019s client, because that\u2019s a private transaction. But if someone bypasses a bondsman and bails the defendant out directly, their name should be on the bond paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Pulido was launching his career in the mid-1990s, he\u00a0recruited<\/a>\u00a0Caballero to play in the band that recorded the Tejano singer\u2019s debut album, \u201cDesvelado\u201d \u2014 months after the accordion player had been released on a personal recognizance bond in a June 1994 sex assault case, according to court documents.<\/p>\n

A Hidalgo County grand jury indicted Caballero (pictured) for the second-degree felony in February 1995, which listed a $75,000 bond \u2014 but there\u2019s not a record of who paid bail, per the county court clerk\u2019s office. Steven Ray \/ Facebook<\/p>\n

A July 18, 1994, court filing for the sex assault case reveals that Caballero was let out of jail without having to fork over any bail \u2014 on the condition that he would be ordered to pay the court $75,000 \u201cin the event I fail to appear and violate the conditions of this bond.\u201d<\/p>\n

A former Hidalgo County prosecutor said that the personal recognizance bond in a felony rape case was \u201coutrageous\u201d and \u201conly could have happened with the blessing of the DA\u2019s office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caballero was only held for 10 days over the alleged sex assault \u2014 from July 8 to July 18, 1994 \u2014 before being released. When he was released, the bond record listed his employment as a musician playing with Arturo Montes.<\/p>\n

Pulido has\u00a0recounted<\/a>\u00a0how Caballero joined him in the studio in January 1995 to record the singer\u2019s first album, one month before a Hidalgo County grand jury indicted him for the second-degree felony.<\/p>\n

The pair toured together in support of the \u201cDesvelado\u201d album, and they can be seen on stage in a November 1995\u00a0appearance<\/a>\u00a0on KGBT-TV\u2019s \u201cAqu\u00ed Rogelio\u201d show.<\/p>\n

Caballero (left) had previously served short jail stints for marijuana possession and burglary charges in 1992, while Pulido was attending St. Mary\u2019s University. Frankie Caballero \/ Facebook<\/p>\n

Three months earlier, Cabaellero had landed back in jail for nine days on a charge of stealing a lawnmower before he was released without having to pay bond again. That resulted in a 15-day sentence and a $100 fine.<\/p>\n

The duo collaborated on other studio albums while Caballero had the sex assault indictment hanging over his head before the charge was dismissed by county prosecutors on April 12, 2000.<\/p>\n

Pulido\u2019s great-uncle,\u00a0Rene Guerra<\/a>, served as Hidalgo County District Attorney<\/a> from 1982 to 2014, and his name appears on the court papers requesting the dismissal, which a judge granted.<\/p>\n

When contacted, Guerra could not recall details of the case but said either he or the first assistant prosecutor in his office would have had to approve the dismissal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe DA\u2019s office, as a general policy, we would not dismiss a sexual assault,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, if the victim came forward and had some inconsistencies on stories and what have you \u2014 whether it was a date rape or a relationship \u2014 well, those cases were probably given a harsher look as a matter of policy, OK, depending on motivation, relationship and what have you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pulido\u2019s campaign manager Abel Prado has said the singer was never aware of the sex offender registration but knew his on-again-off-again bandmate \u201clong struggled with addiction issues.\u201d @texmexdj \/ YouTube<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did extensive attempts to corroborate,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Guerra also said his great-nephew Pulido had never retained Caballero as a permanent employee and only used him as a contract player. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know that you\u2019re gonna find a better person who\u2019s compassionate than Bobby, OK. And I know because I\u2019ve seen it,\u201d he continued, recalling Pulido\u2019s time studying music in college while recovering from a broken leg.<\/p>\n

Asked about federal campaign finance records showing he donated $3,500 to his relative\u2019s campaign, Guerra added: \u201cOh yeah, and I\u2019m gonna donate some more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over a three-decade period, Caballero was also charged in Hidalgo County with driving while intoxicated, cocaine possession, the 1994 sex assault, indecent sexual contact with a minor and assault on a family member by strangulation.<\/p>\n

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The assault by strangulation resulted in a five-year prison sentence, but he was credited with 747 days of previous jail time, allowing him to be paroled out in January 2026.<\/p>\n

Cocaine possession charges were dismissed in 2009 as part of a plea agreement involving a federal charge for transportation of an unlawful alien from Mexico into the US. A judge sentenced him to 27 months.<\/p>\n

Driving under the influence earned Caballero a 30-day sentence and a $350 fine. <\/p>\n

Pulido\u2019s campaign manager Abel Prado has said the singer was never aware of Caballero\u2019s appearance on the sex offender registry but knew his on-again, off-again bandmate \u201clong struggled with addiction issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pulido is challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz in Texas\u2019 15th Congressional District this November. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Pulido\u2019s manager, Jimmy Montez, severed ties with Caballero after learning of his criminal history in 2021.<\/p>\n

The accordion player was jailed in January, February and October of that year, per Hidalgo County court records.<\/p>\n

A Jan. 8, 2021, court record shows that Caballero, when paying bond for charges of failing to comply with his sex offender registration duty, listed his employment as: \u201cBobby Pullido [sic] Band.\u201d<\/p>\n

In public performances and interviews, Pulido has mentioned Caballero\u2019s run-ins with the law, saying in a March 2024 interview that it was a \u201cshame\u201d his bandmate \u201cjust can\u2019t stay out of trouble<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time of that interview, Caballero was\u00a0sitting again in a Hidalgo County jail<\/a>\u00a0on new charges of indecency with a child by sexual contact dating back to May 2020. Those were dismissed too, according to Hidalgo County jail records.<\/p>\n

In a recent leaked audio recording reported by Punchbowl News<\/a>, De La Cruz suggested that her campaign\u2019s internal polling has shown her leading Pulido by just one percentage point, a report to which the Democrat\u2019s campaign also drew attention in its statement.<\/p>\n

A De La Cruz campaign rep said it was \u201cabsolutely pathetic\u201d for Pulido\u2019s team to \u201ctalk about some poll\u201d after having \u201cspent decades knowingly bringing a serial predator around our families.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON \u2014 Latin Grammy winner and Texas House Democratic candidate Bobby Pulido once bragged about getting his\u00a0longtime bandmate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":333622,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2133,2489,61240,287,26822,27,29,28,734],"class_list":["post-333621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-democrats","tag-exclusive","tag-midterm-elections-2026","tag-politics","tag-sexual-assaults","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}