Exclusive | Texas Dem bragged about getting career criminal bandmate out of jail who went on to sexually assault 8-year-old
WASHINGTON — Latin Grammy winner and Texas House Democratic candidate Bobby Pulido once bragged about getting his longtime bandmate Frankie Caballero, who went on to be convicted of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl, “out of jail,” The Post has learned.Pulido told comedian Jose Luis Zagar on a May 2019 YouTube show that Caballero — who had at that point served four years in prison for indecent sexual contact with an eight-year-old girl — was a “master” keyboard player.“He can do anything with the accordion,” the singer said, according to a translation by Laura Rodriguez O’Dwyer of ProntoTranslations, who also works as a New York State court interpreter.“But get this, they locked him up.”“I remember when I started out, I went to get him out of jail,” Pulido added, without referencing what charge.
Other translators indicated that the word for “jail” was a slang term that could be interpreted as “prison” or the colloquial English “slammer.” It’s unclear whether Pulido visited Caballero in a prison or a jail.The resurfaced interview suggests Pulido’s knowledge of his bandmate’s criminal history was more extensive than his campaign previously stated — and just the latest instance in which his music background has drawn scrutiny in a close race with his GOP opponent.Court records indicate Caballero posted bail — either through a personal recognizance bond, surety bond or with cash — after several arrests between 1990 and 2000, as Pulido was ramping up his music career.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 — but that didn’t stop him from touring with Pulido after his release, The Post previously reported.The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other outlets have all cited the report in articles highlighting Pulido’s repeated appearances at quin...