BROWNSVILLE, Texas AP – A bank teller allowed a south Texas mayor to deposit a $26,000 check made out to someone else into his business account, the clerk testified Tuesday at the politician’s theft trial, because he did not think the well-known figure would be breaking the law.

Prosecutors say Brownsville Mayor Pat Ahumada deposited the check into an account for his real estate appraisal business and spent more than $5,000 over the following three weeks.