Former Port of Galveston spokeswoman accused of criminal trespass of terminal

A local woman who served as public relations manager for the Port of Galveston is being investigated for bypassing a security screening.

The former spokeswoman was recently arrested on charges that she bypassed security and COVID screening to board a cruise ship last month by utilizing her port credentials.

Cristina Galego was charged on Jan. 5 with one count of criminal trespass of a critical infrastructure facility and one charge of abuse of official capacity for her actions that took place at the port on Dec. 16, 2021, according to Galveston County Daily News.

Law enforcement officials allege that Galego, 53, employed her Transportation Worker Identification Credential, or TWIC card, in order to enter the cruise terminal after she was not allowed entry for missing the cut-off time, according to the newspaper.

She had been an employee at the port from 2007, until a week after the event, and could serve a year in the county jail and pay fines of up to $4,000 if convicted of Class A misdemeanors, according to Galveston County Daily News.

The newspaper reported that Galego resigned from her duties on Dec. 21, 2021 with Port of Galveston Trustee Ted O’Rourke stating that he hopes to see the incident discussed in an upcoming city council meeting.

“I wish we would have been told about it sooner,” O’Rourke said of the trustees being notified of her resignation and the port is already in the process of finding Galego’s replacement, according to the newspaper.