Third Arrest in Alleged Kickback

A bail bondsman accused of conspiring with a prominent Orange County defense attorney to steer jail inmates and others to his law firm was arrested Tuesday in Miami, prosecutors said.

Alejandro de Jesus Cruz, 33, is the last of three suspects to be arrested in an alleged kickback scheme in which clients were illegally referred to defense attorney Joseph G. Cavallo.

Prosecutors allege that Cruz and fellow bail bondsman Andres Castro, 28, both of Xtreme Bail Bonds in Santa Ana, handed out Cavallo’s business cards to clients, made appointments with the lawyer’s office for clients and told them Cavallo would give them a discount.

Cruz and Castro are also accused of using unlicensed bail agents and unlawfully soliciting clients at Orange County Jail.

The investigation began in February 2004 when a bail agent complained that Xtreme Bail Bonds and other bail bond companies were illegally referring customers to attorneys.

The three were indicted in October 2005.

Investigators arrested Cruz without incident with the help of local authorities.

Orange County prosecutors plan to extradite him to California.

His bail was set at $25,000.

If convicted of all counts of conspiring to have clients steered to his firm, Cavallo could be sentenced to 44 months in prison. Castro and Cruz could face five years.