MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — A former assistant police chief in Port St. Lucie will serve no prison time under a plea deal reached Wednesday for his role in what was called “Operation Martingate”.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated the casewhich they described as a scheme to falsify records to allow football players to compete for schools outside their residential boundaries.

William Vega pleaded guilty to a first-degree felony count of attempted perjury by false written statement.

“He’s very pleased with the way this case was resolved,” said defense attorney Scott Richardson. “He’s able to put that behind him, which was the goal all along.”

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William Vega and his brother, Robert Vega, were volunteer coaches for the Martin County High School football team. Robert Vega, 48, is a police sergeant with the Port St. Lucie, still on unpaid administrative leave.

According to the FDLE, they used the addresses of current and former Port St. police officers. Lucie for fraudulently claiming that the students resided in the Martin County School District. As part of the plea agreement, William Vega gave up his law enforcement certificate.

“First of all, prior to the plea agreement, he came up with the nearly $40,000 cost of the investigation for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement,” said Assistant District Attorney David Lustgarten.

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FDLE said six other parents submitted fraudulent documents.

Prosecutors said a plea deal was more attractive than a potential trial in which the children would have to testify against their parents.

“Our analysis, given the nature of the allegations, is that we didn’t want to put them in that position,” Lustgarten said.

William Vega’s sister-in-law Nixalys Vega, who is Robert’s wife, reached a plea deal Wednesday.

“The most important thing is that there was no financial gain from my client or any of the clients involved in this case,” said her attorney, Jerome Stone.

William Vega’s attorney said his client will seek employment opportunities abroad.

As for the other six defendants whose cases are still pending, prosecutors believe more pleas will be reached.

Read more about WPTV’s coverage of Operation Martingate below: