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REST OF THE COUNTRY SHIVERS, BALMY WEATHER HERE
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TIFF OVER HAVING AN OFFICER CHAUFFEUR FOR CHARRO DAYS
By Juan Montoya
My, a bit testy aren't we?
One of our recent posts dealing with Brownsville Police Chief Orlando Rodriguez bend over backwards for city commissioners such as Rose Gowen and Jessica Tetreau drew a sharp rebuke from the the latter elected official where she claims our post was FALSE and defamatory."
Well, we rechecked our sources and found out that our oriinal post was, indeed, true.
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Maybe Tetreau remembers it differently, but people who witnessed the events recall them quite clearly.
It turns out that the commisisoners' driver did not have a valid ID required by Charro Days parade organizers to prevent liability to the organization.
Apparently, the driver was unable to produce one and the commissioner then called her dad to come over and drive her. When he was delayed by traffic, we are told that it was then that she called Rodriguez and ask for his assistance and provide her with a driver.
Since it was the chief who assigned the officer to drive her, the Charro Days organizers couldn't very well prevent her from attending the parade. The officer was on detail overtime to keep the people safe, not to drive our precocious commissioner around.
More than one person at the scene recalls the events a bit differently than does Tetreau, so we'll leave it at that for now.
My, a bit testy aren't we?
One of our recent posts dealing with Brownsville Police Chief Orlando Rodriguez bend over backwards for city commissioners such as Rose Gowen and Jessica Tetreau drew a sharp rebuke from the the latter elected official where she claims our post was FALSE and defamatory."
Well, we rechecked our sources and found out that our oriinal post was, indeed, true.
Maybe Tetreau remembers it differently, but people who witnessed the events recall them quite clearly.It turns out that the commisisoners' driver did not have a valid ID required by Charro Days parade organizers to prevent liability to the organization.
Apparently, the driver was unable to produce one and the commissioner then called her dad to come over and drive her. When he was delayed by traffic, we are told that it was then that she called Rodriguez and ask for his assistance and provide her with a driver.
Since it was the chief who assigned the officer to drive her, the Charro Days organizers couldn't very well prevent her from attending the parade. The officer was on detail overtime to keep the people safe, not to drive our precocious commissioner around.
More than one person at the scene recalls the events a bit differently than does Tetreau, so we'll leave it at that for now.
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CHANGE ORDERS FOR STEGMAN BLDG. TOP $553,835
By Juan Montoya
We wouldn't blame the average Brownsville taxpayer if they don't believe that the contractor on the carcass of the Stegman Building Performing Arts Academy on the corner of 11th and Washington had gone through more than a half million in change orders since they started the job.
The building has literally been gutted and only the shell remains. But during the last meeting of the city commission, the commissioners approved a change order for $247,435.The original contract cost was to be $5,030,600 with a "contingency fund" of $306,400.However, the contractor – Alpha Construction of Harlingen – went through that sum like a hot knife through butter in seven change orders. Since it was part of the "contingency" fund included in the original contract, the change orders did not have to get commission approval.
After having gone through that, the contractor and city officials had to come back to the commission and get an additional $247,435 for the eighth change order for another $247,435 that includes another $100,000 as a "contingency."
With the approval of the last change order, it means that they got and additional $553,835 added to the original contract price of $5,030,600 and that the project will end up costing a total of $5,584,435.
In addition, downtown merchant shave been complaining to anyone who will listen that the contractor's blocking of 11th Street between Elizabeth and Washington was hurting their businesses.
At the last meeting, the commissioners told city administrators to order the contractor to open up at least one lane to help ease the congestion.
Will that be enough to get the project back on schedule?
Da Mayor Tony Martinez and city commissioner Cesar de Leon told the city officials in charge of the project that they report back to them with an update to make sure the project is progressing with some hope of it becoming a reality.
At close to $6 million with more than half a million in change orders, it might be one of the more expensive projects that the city has embarked on.
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ALL ABOARD FOR THE WIGHTMAN ROLLER COASTER?
By Juan Montoya
Well, here we go again.
Like it or not we are being dragged in again to the Robert Wightman roller coaster of legal threats and vexatious litigation. This time it's the blogger's threatening OP 10.33's Mike Hernandez who he and fellow blogger Eduardo Paz Martinez say has hired me to run interference for his organization.
This pair has a flair for fabrication.
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In the case of Martinez (who goes by the cosmopolitan-sounding name of DPM, Patrick Alcatraz, etc), his making up stuff goes back to his short stint at the Brownsville Herald when he listed city of Brownsville spokesman Bill Young as the contact person for a fabricated Elvis impersonator fete at South Padre Island. Young was livid when people started calling him on the event and his complaints got back to management who were not pleased that their First Amendment media organ was used to perpetrate a hoax.
In the other blogger's checkered history is included his disbarment for defaming judges in Dallas. When he continued to perpetrate the fraud that he was a lawyer who could practice law, he was dragged into court and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor instead of a felony and received a 10-day sentence in the county jail. (For an extended introduction to this guy's mind, see http://thewightmanfile.
We don't know what Hernandez told DPM, but we can say he has never paid me a single penny.
In fact, we don't even have his email or that of his organization in our files. We really see no need to contact them since they have made their intentions known in social media, news stories and in advertisements throughout the city. Local people who believe that the Dallas car dealer's intentions are good have supported this blog in the past as have numerous other people in the city and the county.
We have, in fact, helped Jose Angel Gutierrez promote his grassroots organization efforts gratis even though he has a standing offer for us to assist him in his work. We would just rather continue what we do on our own. Where we can agree on a social goal to improve our area, we can work together. Newspapers do that all the time promoting things like the United Way, supporting various social improvements, education, etc., Not that we haven't criticized the sloppy way that Hernandez went about with his political agenda that included a ham-fisted "targeting" local politicians. Where we disagree, we have made it very public as have others.
We would include a lengthy list of the people who we support and who support us, but we don't feel we have to justify ourselves to these two self-appointed paragons of virtue.
DPM periodically appears and disappears now on this blog and then on that blog or another and bloggers Jim Barton and even Wightman have posted his private messages which are disgusting and downright evil. Dragging Barton's wife Nena and mocking her for having suffered several strokes in malicious and hurtful. DPM does not care about collateral damage since he doesn't even live in Brownsville.
Wightman, on the other hand, is jumping for joy over a demand letter that Hernandez's legal representative Frank Hill has sent him asking him to refrain from calling Hernandez a "fraud" and "con man." When Hernandez sent a similar letter to blogger Jerry McHale, Wightman felt left out and immediately posted the same words in his blog. He sees a deep pocket in Hernandez and is salivating over a big pay day.
Wightman is the quintessential Tar Baby. It's like getting into a pissing contest with a skunk. You may win, but you will be smeared and carry the stench as long as he has access to his personal computer. And his oft-repeated claim that he got a $60,000 settlement from Robert Sanchez and me for his bogus claim that we defamed him is just as false. And he is utterly predicable. If he takes offense at a post in this blog, you will see my mug shot on his page minutes later.
After two years of protracted litigation, demand letters, motions, amended motions and the like, the three insurance companies had spent $250,000 or more in legal fees and Wightman's appeals of his losses in district court and even the Texas Supreme Court was just costing them too much to be worth it. So each chipped in $20,000 to make him go away. Neither Robert nor I agreed that they should pay him, but they could not justify the expense any longer. Just before his constitutional challenge of the vexatious litigant statue was to be shot down on appeal, the companies pulled out. Wightman lucked out and he knew that and took the cash and ran.
We had pointed out Wightman's foibles before we had even heard of Hernandez or OP 10.33. This narcissistic mental midget has left a long trail of legal maneuvering that resulted in having taxpayers pick up more than $40,000 in defaulted student loans when he argued to the U.S. Dept. of Education that he was a disabled veteran.
And he fought tooth and nail our efforts to get the Cameron County Appraisal District to reveal the documentation which he provided them to give him disabled veterans tax discount.
In fact, Wightman served all of a year and a half stateside as a plane mechanic and his only "injury" was a condition that was linked to his homosexual life style.
His rap sheet is long and colorful. Below is a partial list of his peccadilloes.
Not paying his student loans, getting military-connected disability tax property tax reduction
Well, here we go again.
Like it or not we are being dragged in again to the Robert Wightman roller coaster of legal threats and vexatious litigation. This time it's the blogger's threatening OP 10.33's Mike Hernandez who he and fellow blogger Eduardo Paz Martinez say has hired me to run interference for his organization.
This pair has a flair for fabrication.
In the case of Martinez (who goes by the cosmopolitan-sounding name of DPM, Patrick Alcatraz, etc), his making up stuff goes back to his short stint at the Brownsville Herald when he listed city of Brownsville spokesman Bill Young as the contact person for a fabricated Elvis impersonator fete at South Padre Island. Young was livid when people started calling him on the event and his complaints got back to management who were not pleased that their First Amendment media organ was used to perpetrate a hoax.In the other blogger's checkered history is included his disbarment for defaming judges in Dallas. When he continued to perpetrate the fraud that he was a lawyer who could practice law, he was dragged into court and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor instead of a felony and received a 10-day sentence in the county jail. (For an extended introduction to this guy's mind, see http://thewightmanfile.
We don't know what Hernandez told DPM, but we can say he has never paid me a single penny.
In fact, we don't even have his email or that of his organization in our files. We really see no need to contact them since they have made their intentions known in social media, news stories and in advertisements throughout the city. Local people who believe that the Dallas car dealer's intentions are good have supported this blog in the past as have numerous other people in the city and the county.
We have, in fact, helped Jose Angel Gutierrez promote his grassroots organization efforts gratis even though he has a standing offer for us to assist him in his work. We would just rather continue what we do on our own. Where we can agree on a social goal to improve our area, we can work together. Newspapers do that all the time promoting things like the United Way, supporting various social improvements, education, etc., Not that we haven't criticized the sloppy way that Hernandez went about with his political agenda that included a ham-fisted "targeting" local politicians. Where we disagree, we have made it very public as have others.
We would include a lengthy list of the people who we support and who support us, but we don't feel we have to justify ourselves to these two self-appointed paragons of virtue.
DPM periodically appears and disappears now on this blog and then on that blog or another and bloggers Jim Barton and even Wightman have posted his private messages which are disgusting and downright evil. Dragging Barton's wife Nena and mocking her for having suffered several strokes in malicious and hurtful. DPM does not care about collateral damage since he doesn't even live in Brownsville.
Wightman, on the other hand, is jumping for joy over a demand letter that Hernandez's legal representative Frank Hill has sent him asking him to refrain from calling Hernandez a "fraud" and "con man." When Hernandez sent a similar letter to blogger Jerry McHale, Wightman felt left out and immediately posted the same words in his blog. He sees a deep pocket in Hernandez and is salivating over a big pay day.
Wightman is the quintessential Tar Baby. It's like getting into a pissing contest with a skunk. You may win, but you will be smeared and carry the stench as long as he has access to his personal computer. And his oft-repeated claim that he got a $60,000 settlement from Robert Sanchez and me for his bogus claim that we defamed him is just as false. And he is utterly predicable. If he takes offense at a post in this blog, you will see my mug shot on his page minutes later.
After two years of protracted litigation, demand letters, motions, amended motions and the like, the three insurance companies had spent $250,000 or more in legal fees and Wightman's appeals of his losses in district court and even the Texas Supreme Court was just costing them too much to be worth it. So each chipped in $20,000 to make him go away. Neither Robert nor I agreed that they should pay him, but they could not justify the expense any longer. Just before his constitutional challenge of the vexatious litigant statue was to be shot down on appeal, the companies pulled out. Wightman lucked out and he knew that and took the cash and ran.
We had pointed out Wightman's foibles before we had even heard of Hernandez or OP 10.33. This narcissistic mental midget has left a long trail of legal maneuvering that resulted in having taxpayers pick up more than $40,000 in defaulted student loans when he argued to the U.S. Dept. of Education that he was a disabled veteran.
And he fought tooth and nail our efforts to get the Cameron County Appraisal District to reveal the documentation which he provided them to give him disabled veterans tax discount.
In fact, Wightman served all of a year and a half stateside as a plane mechanic and his only "injury" was a condition that was linked to his homosexual life style.
His rap sheet is long and colorful. Below is a partial list of his peccadilloes.
Not paying his student loans, getting military-connected disability tax property tax reduction
Continuing efforts to claim he's a disabled vet:
His sanity questioned:Jailed for practicing law without a license after being disbarred:
Wightman's legal antics:
The use of his health as a legal strategy:
Wightman sues President George W. Bush, Attorney General, FBI director, etc.
http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/
We don't know why Dallas seems to see Brownsville as a depository for rejects like Wightman. We just wish they would stop.
We don't know why Dallas seems to see Brownsville as a depository for rejects like Wightman. We just wish they would stop.
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AT B'VILLE MUNICIPAL COURT: A CHANGING OF THE GUARD?
By Juan Montoya
With the retirement of presiding municipal judge Ben Neece after more 32 years on the bench, the City of Brownsville today announced that municipal court attorney Bobby Lerma was appointed to replace him.
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City Manager Charlie Cabler made the announcement and said Lerma would start immediately as interim presiding judge. Former 445th District Court Judge Rene De Coss will start as Associate Municipal Court Judge at the beginning of the year.
With Neece's departure, Cabler also took the opportunity to replace interim court administrator Tad Hasse with Roberto Baez Hasse, the former court's IT specialist, has been at the position since Baez was placed on suspension with pay following an attempt by Cabler in league with other administrators to place the municipal court administrator slot under the city manager with expanded powers when Neece was absent for a 10-day period earlier this year.
Cabler sent out a directive telling city administrators and employees that he was expanding Baez's duties and placing him under the city manager's office. However, after Neece returned, he contended that it was up to the presiding judge to name the court administrator who would be under the Administrative Service Director/City Secretary.
Upon Neece's retirement, Baez was placed back at his former position of court administrator.
There has been no word on any probe into the reason for his temporary suspension and whether the issues behind it were investigated by the judges or the city administrator.
With the retirement of presiding municipal judge Ben Neece after more 32 years on the bench, the City of Brownsville today announced that municipal court attorney Bobby Lerma was appointed to replace him.
City Manager Charlie Cabler made the announcement and said Lerma would start immediately as interim presiding judge. Former 445th District Court Judge Rene De Coss will start as Associate Municipal Court Judge at the beginning of the year.
With Neece's departure, Cabler also took the opportunity to replace interim court administrator Tad Hasse with Roberto Baez Hasse, the former court's IT specialist, has been at the position since Baez was placed on suspension with pay following an attempt by Cabler in league with other administrators to place the municipal court administrator slot under the city manager with expanded powers when Neece was absent for a 10-day period earlier this year.
Cabler sent out a directive telling city administrators and employees that he was expanding Baez's duties and placing him under the city manager's office. However, after Neece returned, he contended that it was up to the presiding judge to name the court administrator who would be under the Administrative Service Director/City Secretary.
Upon Neece's retirement, Baez was placed back at his former position of court administrator.
There has been no word on any probe into the reason for his temporary suspension and whether the issues behind it were investigated by the judges or the city administrator.
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UNITED BROWNSVILLE MIKE GONZALEZ M.I.A.
By Juan Montoya
With the board of shadow government United Brownsville deciding that the public subsidies from eight publicly funded entities had dried up and they could no longer afford an executive director, Mike Gonzalez has disappeared from the radar screen.
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About the only indication that he may be back in Kyle, Texas, where he was mayor, is that his wife, Linda Teneyuque Gonzalez, is operating a certified public accounting firm in San Marcos. According to her website, she has had her accounting business since 2005 in San Marcos. Gonzalez was elected mayor of Kyle in 2005 and resigned in Dec of 2009 to make an unsuccessful run for county commissioner.
He was named United Brownsville's CEO in April 2011 and was let go this last September.
Even after he was hired at United Brownsville, Gonzalez and wife Linda kept their homestead exemption in Kyle and remained registered to vote there. They never registered to vote in Cameron County despite United Brownsville's stated adherence to civic engagement.
Gonzalez said at the time of his hiring that the greatest challenge was that “the needs of a community are always greater than the capacities that are available.”
A primary aim, he said, is creating jobs. He was right, apparently, because so far United Brownsville cannot claim that it has produced the jobs promised despite a six year subsidy from at least eight publicly-funded entities at $25,000 a pop.
Those were the city of Brownsville, Brownsville Public Utilities Board, Brownsville Navigation District, Brownsville Independent School District, University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, Brownsville Community Improvement Corp. and the Greater Brownsville Incentive Corporation.
With the board of shadow government United Brownsville deciding that the public subsidies from eight publicly funded entities had dried up and they could no longer afford an executive director, Mike Gonzalez has disappeared from the radar screen.
About the only indication that he may be back in Kyle, Texas, where he was mayor, is that his wife, Linda Teneyuque Gonzalez, is operating a certified public accounting firm in San Marcos. According to her website, she has had her accounting business since 2005 in San Marcos. Gonzalez was elected mayor of Kyle in 2005 and resigned in Dec of 2009 to make an unsuccessful run for county commissioner.He was named United Brownsville's CEO in April 2011 and was let go this last September.
Even after he was hired at United Brownsville, Gonzalez and wife Linda kept their homestead exemption in Kyle and remained registered to vote there. They never registered to vote in Cameron County despite United Brownsville's stated adherence to civic engagement.
Gonzalez said at the time of his hiring that the greatest challenge was that “the needs of a community are always greater than the capacities that are available.”
A primary aim, he said, is creating jobs. He was right, apparently, because so far United Brownsville cannot claim that it has produced the jobs promised despite a six year subsidy from at least eight publicly-funded entities at $25,000 a pop.
Those were the city of Brownsville, Brownsville Public Utilities Board, Brownsville Navigation District, Brownsville Independent School District, University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, Brownsville Community Improvement Corp. and the Greater Brownsville Incentive Corporation.
Just last month the City of Brownsville voted not to continue budgeting their $25,000. As of last count, only three other entities continue to subsidize the organization. The United Brownsville Coordinating Board has not named a replacement, instead naming a United Brownsville secretary Laura Matamoros as interim director.
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PUB, CITY, FACE DILEMMA: WHAT TO DO WITH $90 MILLION
By Juan Montoya
Some local Brownsville Public Utility Board customers were surprised to find that they had received a $50 "rebate" on their January utility bill.
They considered it a nice belated Christmas present from their local utility.
But what they don't know – and for that matter no one is confirming – is that there is a pile of cash that is climbing toward $90 million in the coffers of the PUB that was supposed to fund the bonds the utility was going to issue for the construction of the $500 million Brownsville-Tenaska gas-powered plant that would generate 800 MWs of electricity.
PUB was to contribute $325 million and receive 200 MWs. Tenaska would keep the remaining 600 MW to sell on the grid.
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As a result, a hoard of loot has been piling up since January 2013 after the city commission approved an ordinance that allowed the PUB board to set utility rates upwards.
In the week between Dec. 11-17, 2012, a unanimous city commission board rammed through two public hearings at two special meetings and passed two ordinances that resulted in adoption of upwards rate hikes in utilities that totaled:
- A36 percent increase in electric rates over the next three years
- A 20 percent increase in water rates over the same period
-And a 6 percent hike in waste water costs over two years.
-Under the plan approved by both bodies (COB and PUB), electric rates alone went up by 14 percent by October 2013 and another 22 percent by October 2016.
We had posted before that Fitch Rating had said in their May 2016 report that PUB reserved $19 million into an equity reserve in fiscals 2014 and 2015, and budgeted another $10 million deposit in fiscal 2016. In other words, the rate payers had given PUB and extra $30 million so far and the PUB "may" move to adjust the fuel factor to lower their bills by $15 million sometime in 2016.
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But now sources in the city administration say that the real amount of money collected by PUB as a result of the rate increases is fast approaching $90 million.
We thought these numbers were staggering considering that PUB has approximately 47,000 customers and that total revenues of the combined system are comprised of approximately 78 percent electric, 11 percent water, and 11 percent wastewater. So we drafted a public information request Dec. 9 and sought more specific information.
Dear Ms. Tello, please consider this a formal public information request for the following:
Some local Brownsville Public Utility Board customers were surprised to find that they had received a $50 "rebate" on their January utility bill.
They considered it a nice belated Christmas present from their local utility.
But what they don't know – and for that matter no one is confirming – is that there is a pile of cash that is climbing toward $90 million in the coffers of the PUB that was supposed to fund the bonds the utility was going to issue for the construction of the $500 million Brownsville-Tenaska gas-powered plant that would generate 800 MWs of electricity.
PUB was to contribute $325 million and receive 200 MWs. Tenaska would keep the remaining 600 MW to sell on the grid.
As a result, a hoard of loot has been piling up since January 2013 after the city commission approved an ordinance that allowed the PUB board to set utility rates upwards.In the week between Dec. 11-17, 2012, a unanimous city commission board rammed through two public hearings at two special meetings and passed two ordinances that resulted in adoption of upwards rate hikes in utilities that totaled:
- A36 percent increase in electric rates over the next three years
- A 20 percent increase in water rates over the same period
-And a 6 percent hike in waste water costs over two years.
-Under the plan approved by both bodies (COB and PUB), electric rates alone went up by 14 percent by October 2013 and another 22 percent by October 2016.
We had posted before that Fitch Rating had said in their May 2016 report that PUB reserved $19 million into an equity reserve in fiscals 2014 and 2015, and budgeted another $10 million deposit in fiscal 2016. In other words, the rate payers had given PUB and extra $30 million so far and the PUB "may" move to adjust the fuel factor to lower their bills by $15 million sometime in 2016.
We thought these numbers were staggering considering that PUB has approximately 47,000 customers and that total revenues of the combined system are comprised of approximately 78 percent electric, 11 percent water, and 11 percent wastewater. So we drafted a public information request Dec. 9 and sought more specific information.
Dear Ms. Tello, please consider this a formal public information request for the following:
1. The total amount paid to legal counsel firm Treviño and Boden during the time it has been representing PUB.
2.The total amount collected by PUB from ratepayers as a result of the utility rate hikes put into effect to pay for power plant approved by the PUB board and the City of Brownsville Commission on December 2012.
3. What the PUB has done with the amount collected (in request #2)?
4. A copy of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Tenaska and the PUB.
We included the legal counsel because it was they who drafted the MOU between Tenaska and PUB. Eddie Treviño is now the Cameron County Judge. In fact, Tenaska drafted a letter to the county which asked that their application for tax abatements for the plant be withdrawn because they had no firm date on when they were going to start construction on the plant. The Fitch report states that the MOU contains a clause where PUB allows Tenaska to delay the construction of the plant until the private company finds customers for the remaining 600 MWs. Fitch states that PUB-Tenaska has set a tentative date sometime in 2018 for the bond issue.
The 10 working days PUB had to answer our request for public information ended on Dec. 23 and so far, we have not received an answer as required by the Texas Public Information Act. In the past, PUB (and Treviño in particular) have resisted releasing information on the MOU stating that given the competitive nature of the energy business, it would harm both PUB and Tenaska. The plant was supposed to have been built by 2016, this year.
But now that the plant is three years behind schedule and there is a glut of electricity on the open market, what is PUB (and the city) going to do with the $90 million? Can they legally use it for other purposes other than what was stated on the record? Will it give the money back to the ratepayers? At $50 rebate increments it would take years before they saw the money. And will the utility set the rates to what they were before January 2013?
We are still awaiting a response from the PUB as is the city commission.
We included the legal counsel because it was they who drafted the MOU between Tenaska and PUB. Eddie Treviño is now the Cameron County Judge. In fact, Tenaska drafted a letter to the county which asked that their application for tax abatements for the plant be withdrawn because they had no firm date on when they were going to start construction on the plant. The Fitch report states that the MOU contains a clause where PUB allows Tenaska to delay the construction of the plant until the private company finds customers for the remaining 600 MWs. Fitch states that PUB-Tenaska has set a tentative date sometime in 2018 for the bond issue.
The 10 working days PUB had to answer our request for public information ended on Dec. 23 and so far, we have not received an answer as required by the Texas Public Information Act. In the past, PUB (and Treviño in particular) have resisted releasing information on the MOU stating that given the competitive nature of the energy business, it would harm both PUB and Tenaska. The plant was supposed to have been built by 2016, this year.
But now that the plant is three years behind schedule and there is a glut of electricity on the open market, what is PUB (and the city) going to do with the $90 million? Can they legally use it for other purposes other than what was stated on the record? Will it give the money back to the ratepayers? At $50 rebate increments it would take years before they saw the money. And will the utility set the rates to what they were before January 2013?
We are still awaiting a response from the PUB as is the city commission.
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ARE PUB'S $$$ TRANSFERS TO CITY A DE FACTO DOUBLE TAX?
By Juan Montoya
During a recent update on the financial condition of the City of Brownsville investment bankers Estrada and Hinojosa told the city it had a little more than $347 million in existing outstanding debt that the generations of Brownsville will continue paying until 2026.
Most of these were issued as Certificates of Obligation, a favored method of incurring debt which are passed by the city commission without having to go to the public for a vote.
Nonetheless, Noe Hinojosa – at the behest of the city administration and commission –presented a proposed Capital Improvement Plan (PIC) for the next five years starting in 2017 with a price tag of an additional $236 million.
How to pay for the additional debt?
The financial advisers came up with the imposition of a new "drainage use" tax which would add an additional tax burden of $27 million to city taxpayers, have the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation "loan" the airport $27 million for the new airport terminal, and aggressively seek federal and state grants. That's in addition to the property tax already levied on the residents.
But it is the role of the PUB in the cash "transfer" payments for some of the improvements on the CIP that raised some eyebrows. It also made some of the listeners take a closer look at how consecutive city commissions have used the PUB as a source of cash to offset their chronic deficit budgets.
In fact, since 2003 (that's as far back as the analysis went) PUB has made cash transfers to the city starting at $3.7 million and provided $3.1 million in free utilities. In that year, the combined transfers and utilities totaled $6.8 million.
By the end of this year (2016), the cash transfers had increased to $9.5 million and utilities to $4.7 million. The total in cash and free utilities today are $14.2 million.
The 2017 budget has a $8.6 million cash transfer and a $5.0 million in utilities for a total of $13.6 million from the utility to the city.
This has made some people question whether the city's continued habit of making cash and utility "transfers" from the PUB amounts to a double tax on local residents.
"As long as you have the PUB as a cash cow there really is no need to trim costs or reduce waste," said a city critic whose comments during city meeting are blacked out as per advice of city legal counsel Mark Sossi. "Why watch costs when you can just lean on the city-appointed PUB members and they will fork over the cash?"
In fact, in 2010 and 2011, the city went to the PUB for additional "economic assistance" to help tide them over in those lean years. In 2010, they got $3 million more and in 2011 they settled for and additional $2.5 million.
Now, with an additional $90 million piling up in the PUB coffers due to the increases in utility rates approved by the city commission starting in 2013 to build an 800 MWs electric generating plant with Tenaska, a private corporation, city officials are salivating at the idea of raiding the PUB again to pay for part of the CIP.
That project, envisioned for completion in 2016, has been delayed to start until 2018 because Tenaska has found no customers for 600 of the 800 MWs it will generate. The city will get 200 MWs for its $325 share of the cost.
"(City Manager) Charlie Cabler has been trying to talk the PUB to share some fo the wealth, but some of the members are not buying it," said the critic. "They don't think it's right that the ratepayers be taxed once again for the projects that the city commission wants to fund."
Will the PUB give in to the pressure exerted by the city and hand over some of the loot paid by ratepayers? Or will some crusading attorney come in nand put a stop to the pigs feeding twice at the same public trough?
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A NEW YEAR, AND AN ACCOUNTING OF PASSING TIME
By Juan Montoya
The calendar says it will be 2017 come Sunday.
That, in turn, means that at least in January, we will have a Friday 13.
At the household, I used to have a running quiz with the my three kids regarding time, or its invention.
"Who invented time?," goes the question.
"The Sumerians," was the expected response.
The Sumerians, of course did not "invent" time. It has been there all along. However, they are generally credited with measuring it by giving the minute 60 seconds, the hours 60 minutes, etc.,
These people also invented writing, the wheel and the plow.
Other cultures around the world have been conscientious time watchers. The Mayas stand out as one of the most applied to measuring the skies and the movement of the stars and planets and ascribing properties to them that have turned out to be mostly fanciful and cloaked in religious mythology.
Their calendar goes back thousands of years more and calculates thousands of years ahead. We weren't there to witness the beginning, nor will any of us be there to see it to the end, whenever that may be.
The Egyptians and other cultures didn't lag far behind. In the Americas, the Native Americans were also avid star gazers.
The Western world, while crediting the Muslims for their mathematical genius and inventiveness, nonetheless convinced the world that it should follow their religious traditions – often based on pagan holidays – and based its measurement of modern time as before and after the birth of Christ, the Nazarene prophet they believe is the Son of God.
It was Pope Gregory who personally altered the calendar and changed time to make the calendar "fit" in with the Easter celebration.
Time, then, is a relative concept which is used to measure everything from fossils to personal growth.
This much we know. Since man (and woman) began to keep a track of time, our good planet completes one revolution around the sun in one unit of a measure we call a year. We have synchronized the seasons to fit with the rhythm of our lives as the planet tilts and the weather changes relative to the direction the planet faces to our solar system star from the perspective of our particular hemisphere.
We measure our lives in years and this one – according to the mostly used method of measurement accepted by a majority of our societies – is coming to an end.
The upside is that a new one is just beginning and as we look back at the old unit, can resolve that the new unit of time approaching – if we are lucky to get it there – can be as good or as mediocre as we make it. To a large degree, it's up to each one of us.
Here's wishing you a Happy New Time Unit without the hangover of the last one.
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IN DOWNTOWN BROWNTOWN: ASUSTAME ONE MORE TIME BAR
By Juan Montoya
There is a drinking establishment in downtown Brownsville where at about 4 a.m. – hours after the owner has closed and shut off all the lights and fixtures – they all come back on on their own, even the jukebox on the wall.
The security cameras capture a shimmering dark figure at the end of the long bar that looks up periodically at the ceiling.
Sometimes the camera captures a kaleidoscope of butterflies made of light emerging from the mirrors on the wall inside the bar.
They flutter and then disappear.
"I've had a couple of girls quit working because they were scared," said the owner, a spunky short lady with reddish hair.
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"One of them was standing with her back to the kitchen door and the lights were off in there and she said she felt someone stoke her nalgas," she said. "She jumped up and turned around and there was no one there. She was shaking, she was so scared. She quit that night."
There is no end to ghost stories in the downtown area, but in the case of this joint, there is actual security camera footage that shows the shimmering male figure at the bar and – if you look closely at the dark wall at the end, a collage of ugly, contorted faces are visible.
"I've been working here with the lights off when I close and I can hear something moving in the dark and no one is there," said the owner. "I just shout at them to get the hell out of here and not to bother me."
Others aren't as sanguine as she is. One of the workers who has experienced some of these encounters with the phantom customers says she has been mopping the floors when she has felt something pass by her and brush her as it moved by her.
"It was like cold air blowing and we hadn't turned on the air conditioning," she recalled. "There's something here."
The owner and her assistant (a daughter) say they are putting the images on a disk to have someone tell them what the figures are or what they could mean. For now, however, word is spreading among downtown customers of the goings on in the bar after closing hours.
"We are going to try to make photos of the images and post them in the bard," said the owner. "We might even change the name to Asustame One More Time Bar."
There is a drinking establishment in downtown Brownsville where at about 4 a.m. – hours after the owner has closed and shut off all the lights and fixtures – they all come back on on their own, even the jukebox on the wall.
The security cameras capture a shimmering dark figure at the end of the long bar that looks up periodically at the ceiling.
Sometimes the camera captures a kaleidoscope of butterflies made of light emerging from the mirrors on the wall inside the bar.
They flutter and then disappear.
"I've had a couple of girls quit working because they were scared," said the owner, a spunky short lady with reddish hair.
"One of them was standing with her back to the kitchen door and the lights were off in there and she said she felt someone stoke her nalgas," she said. "She jumped up and turned around and there was no one there. She was shaking, she was so scared. She quit that night."
There is no end to ghost stories in the downtown area, but in the case of this joint, there is actual security camera footage that shows the shimmering male figure at the bar and – if you look closely at the dark wall at the end, a collage of ugly, contorted faces are visible.
"I've been working here with the lights off when I close and I can hear something moving in the dark and no one is there," said the owner. "I just shout at them to get the hell out of here and not to bother me."
Others aren't as sanguine as she is. One of the workers who has experienced some of these encounters with the phantom customers says she has been mopping the floors when she has felt something pass by her and brush her as it moved by her.
"It was like cold air blowing and we hadn't turned on the air conditioning," she recalled. "There's something here."
The owner and her assistant (a daughter) say they are putting the images on a disk to have someone tell them what the figures are or what they could mean. For now, however, word is spreading among downtown customers of the goings on in the bar after closing hours.
"We are going to try to make photos of the images and post them in the bard," said the owner. "We might even change the name to Asustame One More Time Bar."
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GILBERT HINOJOSA'S MUG SHOT GOES UP IN COMMISH COURT
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J.P. MARY ESTHER SOROLA SWEARS IN JUDGE ELIA CORNEJO
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THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS
The use of county workers and equipment of Freddie Gomez road pictured at right would seem a paltry reason to get indicted and charged with the crime of misappropriating county funds, materials and labor on behalf of a private citizen.
Yet, that is what former Cameron County Judge Pete Sepulveda was charged with in an indictment handed down by a grand jury December 21.
In the indictment, the grand jury charged that Sepulveda used county workers, equipment and materials to work the road from March 7-11, 2016 costing between $2,500 and $30,000 for private road owner Anita Weaver.
A cursory look at the road shows what appear to be asphalt road millings procured from the crews of the Texas Dept. of Transportation after they scarify a road or highway. The indictment does not indicate which workers were used. However, since the road is in Precinct 4, they most probably were from that precinct.
At the time of the alleged acts, former Pct. 4 commissioner Dan Sanchez was in office. Did Sepulveda approve the working of the road as a political favor for Sanchez who at the time was in the runoff for county judge against Eddie Treviño? Sanchez left office on March 18, when Gus Ruiz, who won the runoff election March 1, was appointed by Sepulveda to take the post.
How could Sanchez not know that county workers and equipment were being used to work the road in his precinct?
And what involvement did county adminitrator David Garcia have in the matter. As the director of Public Works and the Road and Bridge Department he would have intimate knowledge of county projects.
Reports from Los Indios indicate that former mayor Rick Bennet was upset that Sanchez was getting involved in the mayor's race there and planned to run a candidate againt him. Reports further indicate that Bennet went to Saenz with the report that county crews were working on the private road. To the surprise of investigators, it was Sepulved'as name that surfaced on the documentation authorizing the work.
"The guy they really wanted was Sanchez, but they ran into the paperwork signed by Sepulveda," said a source. "We don't know if Sanchez even knew or whether Sepulveda thought he was doing him a favor by authorizing the county crews to work there."
How could Sanchez not know that county workers and equipment were being used to work the road in his precinct?
And what involvement did county adminitrator David Garcia have in the matter. As the director of Public Works and the Road and Bridge Department he would have intimate knowledge of county projects.
Reports from Los Indios indicate that former mayor Rick Bennet was upset that Sanchez was getting involved in the mayor's race there and planned to run a candidate againt him. Reports further indicate that Bennet went to Saenz with the report that county crews were working on the private road. To the surprise of investigators, it was Sepulved'as name that surfaced on the documentation authorizing the work.
"The guy they really wanted was Sanchez, but they ran into the paperwork signed by Sepulveda," said a source. "We don't know if Sanchez even knew or whether Sepulveda thought he was doing him a favor by authorizing the county crews to work there."
Depending on the outcome of the case, it will probably have some effect on Sepulveda's position as a the executive director of the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority, at a $240,000 salary plus benefits. By comparison, James Bass, the executive director of the Texas Dept. of Transportation who oversees the entire state, comands a $290,000 salary.
"This is the guy who oversees the entire styate of texas and he gets almost the same as Sepulveda who oversees the CCRMA," said a lontime county employee.
"This is the guy who oversees the entire styate of texas and he gets almost the same as Sepulveda who oversees the CCRMA," said a lontime county employee.
As director of the CCRMA, Sepulveda personally oversees the planning, design and construction of major projects such as the second South Padre Island Causeway, the planned West Loop, the toll road to the Port of Brownsville and the planned East Loop to divert heavy traffic away from International Blvd.
He is also in charge of the Transportation Reinvestment Zones that will bring millions in tax increment revenues to the CCRMA. Sepulveda's trial is set for February.
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A DANGEROUS RIDE IN A WHEELCHAIR IN THE CITY
(Ed.'s Note: This wheelchair-bound man was rolling along against traffic on 12th Street heading north and had to dodge the oncoming traffic who came across him as they headed toward downtown. If you notice, the sidewalk on his right of the old jail is more than a foot higher than the one next to it so he could not use it to stay off the street. Cars made a wide berth to allow him to reach the next corner and he could be on his way.)
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TONY YZAGUIRRE'S TRIAL IS ON SCHEDULE FOR JAN. 23
By Juan Montoya
Like the proverbial beast slouching toward Bethlehem, the corruption trial of Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector Tony Yzaguirre is still on schedule for January 23 at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi.
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Before the hearing, the Cameron County courthouse was rife with rumors that his bond would be revoked for having posted his performance bond with the county clerk and taken the oath of office.
However, visiting judge Manuel Bañales left his bond in place and heard the rest of the pre-trial motions by the state and the defendant.
Yzaguirre – the Democratic Party nominee – beat two write-in opponents in the November election.
This morning his lawyers filed a flurry of motions to dismiss the charges filed against him last year.
The Texas Department of Public Safety worked with the District Attorney's Office and other law enforcement agencies on the investigation. They called the case "Operation Dirty Deeds."
Yzaguirre faces 11 counts of abuse of official capacity, 10 counts of bribery, one count of engaging in organized criminal activity and one count of official oppression.
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One of Yzaguirre's attorneys – Eddie Lucio – argued that multiple charges for the same offenses constituted double jeopardy and should be dismissed, that the court should throw out the evidence gathered by a state trooper who testified that he falsified car titled of junked vehicles to acquire legitimate titles and forged people's names on them to pass them through the tax office, and that prosecutors be ordered to return his client's personal effects, documents, computers, laptops and Ipads they removed from his home and office during court-ordered searches.
Cameron County Asst. District Attorneys countered that they had given the defense a partial inventory list of the items seized from his office and home and that they did not have physical possession of the items.
"They're in a room – the property room – at the DPS in Brownsville," said lead prosecutor Peter Gilman. "All they have to dos is ask for permission from the DPS to see them."
The defense put forth arguments on why evidence gathered by a DPS sting operation should be thrown out, making most of the state case untenable. They argued that the investigator who used junked cars to get new titles license plates had violated the Texas Criminal Code by tampering with a government document. They further listed other acts which included forging the names of other people on the titles and passing them off as legitimate owners so they could register them with the county tax office.
"When they were rejected, he testified he went back and got legitimate names and registration numbers and then they passed," Lucio said. "The code is very specific when it says you cannot violate the law to move the process along."
Lucio also said that the prosecution had been cagey about letting him know about the tax office employees that would be subpoenaed which would have an effect of the ability of the office to transact normal business. He said that if the prosecution would let him know who it was calling on specific days, he would work them into the trial to lessen the impact of their absence from their work at the various tax offices in the county.
Since a change of venue was granted to the defense, the tax workers subpoenaed to appear at the trial would have to be transported there to testify.
"This case was changed in venue at the request of the defense," he reminded Lucio.
However, he said that he would not require the tax workers to be present during jury selection (voir dire) to lessen the impact of the trial on the workers and the residents of Cameron County.
There were two pre-trial hearing scheduled to be heard in Brownsville on Jan. 13 and January 19 to iron out the differences and motion between the state and the defense. Both said that they would need about four days each to complete their arguments in the trial.
"It is clear that this is an extraordinary case," Bañales told the lawyers. "It is going to affect the workers in the tax office and the people of this county."
Like the proverbial beast slouching toward Bethlehem, the corruption trial of Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector Tony Yzaguirre is still on schedule for January 23 at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi.
However, visiting judge Manuel Bañales left his bond in place and heard the rest of the pre-trial motions by the state and the defendant.
Yzaguirre – the Democratic Party nominee – beat two write-in opponents in the November election.
This morning his lawyers filed a flurry of motions to dismiss the charges filed against him last year.
The Texas Department of Public Safety worked with the District Attorney's Office and other law enforcement agencies on the investigation. They called the case "Operation Dirty Deeds."
Yzaguirre faces 11 counts of abuse of official capacity, 10 counts of bribery, one count of engaging in organized criminal activity and one count of official oppression.
One of Yzaguirre's attorneys – Eddie Lucio – argued that multiple charges for the same offenses constituted double jeopardy and should be dismissed, that the court should throw out the evidence gathered by a state trooper who testified that he falsified car titled of junked vehicles to acquire legitimate titles and forged people's names on them to pass them through the tax office, and that prosecutors be ordered to return his client's personal effects, documents, computers, laptops and Ipads they removed from his home and office during court-ordered searches.
Cameron County Asst. District Attorneys countered that they had given the defense a partial inventory list of the items seized from his office and home and that they did not have physical possession of the items.
"They're in a room – the property room – at the DPS in Brownsville," said lead prosecutor Peter Gilman. "All they have to dos is ask for permission from the DPS to see them."
The defense put forth arguments on why evidence gathered by a DPS sting operation should be thrown out, making most of the state case untenable. They argued that the investigator who used junked cars to get new titles license plates had violated the Texas Criminal Code by tampering with a government document. They further listed other acts which included forging the names of other people on the titles and passing them off as legitimate owners so they could register them with the county tax office.
"When they were rejected, he testified he went back and got legitimate names and registration numbers and then they passed," Lucio said. "The code is very specific when it says you cannot violate the law to move the process along."
Lucio also said that the prosecution had been cagey about letting him know about the tax office employees that would be subpoenaed which would have an effect of the ability of the office to transact normal business. He said that if the prosecution would let him know who it was calling on specific days, he would work them into the trial to lessen the impact of their absence from their work at the various tax offices in the county.
Since a change of venue was granted to the defense, the tax workers subpoenaed to appear at the trial would have to be transported there to testify.
"This case was changed in venue at the request of the defense," he reminded Lucio.
However, he said that he would not require the tax workers to be present during jury selection (voir dire) to lessen the impact of the trial on the workers and the residents of Cameron County.
There were two pre-trial hearing scheduled to be heard in Brownsville on Jan. 13 and January 19 to iron out the differences and motion between the state and the defense. Both said that they would need about four days each to complete their arguments in the trial.
"It is clear that this is an extraordinary case," Bañales told the lawyers. "It is going to affect the workers in the tax office and the people of this county."
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HELP S-MOST COMMUNITY BOXING CLUB FUNDRAISER
Want to help out youngsters taking up boxing in Brownsville?
The Southmost Brownsville Community Boxing Club is hosting a "chalupa" lottery and buffet fundraiser this Saturday at the Golden Corral Restaurant located at 4555 N Expressway, Brownsville.
The chalupa will be held from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at the restaurant and miscellaneous prizes will be awarded. The play is limited to adults and there will be no early birds. The price is four cards for $25.
The group trains in a gym above Tony's Body Shop 3407 Burton Drive and is owned by Tony Garcia, who lets the boxing club train there.
Boys and girls from all over the city are invited to train at the gym under the direction of Avila. Numerous fighters help out, including Eddie Vallejo, seen here with his nephew Raul Vallejo, Jr., who is one of the club's rising stars. Kassandra
Demetrio (above) is said to be one of the best 16-year-olds training there.
For more information on the lottery, call Coach Fred "Cacho" Avila at 459-5136.
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FIRST LAUNCH ATTEMPT BY SPACEX SINCE SEPTEMBER
(Although SpaceX first said it would begin commercial payload satellite launches in 2013, the company has not made any launch attempts at the Boca Chica Beach site and has not built its pad or vertical launch facilities yet. It has been busy trying to clear glitches of its Falcon 9 rocket, the same type that owner Elon Musk said would someday launch rockets from here. Below, an update on the company's troubles in California.)
By James Dean
Florida Today
SpaceX has been cleared to attempt a Monday launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from California, the company's first in nearly five months.
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The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday confirmed it has accepted the findings of SpaceX's investigation into an explosion that destroyed a rocket and commercial satellite during a Sept. 1 countdown test at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and has issued SpaceX a license for the return-to-flight mission.
A Falcon 9 carrying 10 Iridium Communications satellites is targeting liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 1:22 p.m. Eastern Time (10:22 a.m. local time), during an instantaneous window.
But the weather forecast is iffy, with rain expected.
On Thursday, SpaceX fueled the rocket and briefly fired the rocket's nine main engines — successfully completing the same type of pre-launch test that was in progress when the September explosion occurred.
“With completion of the static fire test, our first launch has just gotten that much closer,” said Iridium CEO Matt Desch, in a statement Friday. “The Iridium team has been anxiously awaiting launch day, and we’re now all the more excited to send those first ten Iridium NEXT satellites into orbit.”
The satellites are the first of 70 that SpaceX is contracted to launch for Iridium.
SpaceX on Jan. 2 announced its four-month investigation concluded that the explosion "likely" resulted from buckling in tanks that store gaseous helium, which is used to pressurize propellant tanks.
Super-chilled liquid oxygen pooled in the buckles between the lining and a composite carbon overwrap covering the tanks, causing friction or breaking carbon fibers that ignited the oxygen.
The company said it would reconfigure its helium tanks and load the gas at a warmer temperature. Longer-term, the tanks will be redesigned.
The FAA, NASA, Air Force and National Transportation Safety Board assisted the investigation.
If the next flight goes well, SpaceX hopes to perform its first launch from Kennedy Space Center's pad 39A as soon as Jan. 26, launching a commercial communications satellite. Nearby Launch Complex 40 remains out of commission after the September accident.
That could be followed as soon as Feb. 8 with a launch of cargo to the International Space Station. NASA is conducting its own investigation into SpaceX's accident and expects to review findings with the company this month.
For rest of launch report, click on link below:
http://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2017/01/06/spacex-confirms-monday-launch-attempt-california/96254830/
By James Dean
Florida Today
SpaceX has been cleared to attempt a Monday launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from California, the company's first in nearly five months.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday confirmed it has accepted the findings of SpaceX's investigation into an explosion that destroyed a rocket and commercial satellite during a Sept. 1 countdown test at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and has issued SpaceX a license for the return-to-flight mission.
A Falcon 9 carrying 10 Iridium Communications satellites is targeting liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 1:22 p.m. Eastern Time (10:22 a.m. local time), during an instantaneous window.
But the weather forecast is iffy, with rain expected.
On Thursday, SpaceX fueled the rocket and briefly fired the rocket's nine main engines — successfully completing the same type of pre-launch test that was in progress when the September explosion occurred.
“With completion of the static fire test, our first launch has just gotten that much closer,” said Iridium CEO Matt Desch, in a statement Friday. “The Iridium team has been anxiously awaiting launch day, and we’re now all the more excited to send those first ten Iridium NEXT satellites into orbit.”
The satellites are the first of 70 that SpaceX is contracted to launch for Iridium.
SpaceX on Jan. 2 announced its four-month investigation concluded that the explosion "likely" resulted from buckling in tanks that store gaseous helium, which is used to pressurize propellant tanks.
Super-chilled liquid oxygen pooled in the buckles between the lining and a composite carbon overwrap covering the tanks, causing friction or breaking carbon fibers that ignited the oxygen.
The company said it would reconfigure its helium tanks and load the gas at a warmer temperature. Longer-term, the tanks will be redesigned.
The FAA, NASA, Air Force and National Transportation Safety Board assisted the investigation.
If the next flight goes well, SpaceX hopes to perform its first launch from Kennedy Space Center's pad 39A as soon as Jan. 26, launching a commercial communications satellite. Nearby Launch Complex 40 remains out of commission after the September accident.
That could be followed as soon as Feb. 8 with a launch of cargo to the International Space Station. NASA is conducting its own investigation into SpaceX's accident and expects to review findings with the company this month.
For rest of launch report, click on link below:
http://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2017/01/06/spacex-confirms-monday-launch-attempt-california/96254830/
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IS TONY Y'S PROSECUTION DOOMED BY FABRICATED EVIDENCE?
"Article 38.23 prohibits the admission of evidence obtained by an officer in violation of Texas law. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.23. The law the majority and the court of appeals have deemed violated reads, “A person commits an offense if, knowing that an investigation or official proceeding is pending or in progress, he ․ makes, presents, or uses any record, document, or thing with knowledge of its falsity and with intent to affect the course or outcome of the investigation or official proceeding.” Penal Code Ann. § 37.09."Ronald WILSON, Appellant v. The STATE of Texas, decided March 3, 2010
By Juan Montoya
On January 21, 2006, San Antonio police officer found the Amos Gutierrez dead from a single gunshot to the head. A magazine clip was found nearby.
A tipster told them Ronald Wilson had killed Gutierrez and police brought him in on unrelated charges for questioning. Wilson denied having shot Gutierrez. A police officer then fabricated a fingerprint forensic report record on his computer stating that the defendant's fingerprints were found on the magazine clip and confronted him.
Faced with that fabricated evidence, Wilson confessed.
The facts may be different, but the attorneys for indicted Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector Tony Yzaguirre say that the fact that Department of Public Safety officer who testified during pre-trial hearings that he had fabricated false titles for cars that he later tried to have register at the tax office was engaging in the same illegal conduct which led to the reversal of Wilson's conviction and freed him of a 28-year sentence.
The Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that any evidence – including Wilson's confession – obtained by police using forged or fabricated state documents was inadmissible and violated several statutes of the Texas Penal Code. Wilson's confession was reversed.
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During the hearing Friday, Yzaguirre's attorney Eddie Lucio (no relation to Sen. Eddie Lucio) asked visiting judge Manuel Bañales to dismiss all the charges against Yzaguirre obtained through the use of the doctored car registration applications the DPS officer submitted to the tax office. That would include the majority related to the 11 counts of abuse of official capacity, 10 counts of bribery, one count of engaging in organized criminal activity and one count of official oppression.
They further listed other acts which included forging the names of other people on the titles and passing them off as legitimate owners so they could register them with the county tax office.
"When they were rejected, he testified he went back and got legitimate names and registration numbers and then they passed," Lucio said. "That is tampering with a government document and should be thrown out. The code is very specific when it says you cannot violate the law to move the process along."
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Court in the Wilson case upheld the decision by the San Antonio Court of Appeals, which held that (1) the interrogating officer violated the law by fabricating a forensic report falsely stating that appellant's fingerprints were found on the magazine clip of the murder weapon; and (2) the trial judge erred in denying appellant's motion to suppress.
Asst. DA Peter Gilman and the prosecution team contended that the falsified state applications used by the DPS officer were not government documents and therefore, excluded from the definition in Wilson. Bañales denied the defense motion and ordered the trial to proceed.
Yzaguirre was reelected to office in November, a few weeks after he was indicted. He garnered 75 percent of the 65,911 votes cast in that race (49,777). Two write-in candidates only got 16,134 votes, or 24.48 percent.
He was recently sworn in and signed his officeholder's bond to take office. He has been prohibited by the court to appear in his office or to perform any official duties until the conclusion of his trial. However, even if convicted, he can remain in office until his appeal is heard by the courts.
To read the Wilson vs. Texas Criminal Court of Appeals decision, click on link below:
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-criminal-appeals/1509726.html
By Juan Montoya
On January 21, 2006, San Antonio police officer found the Amos Gutierrez dead from a single gunshot to the head. A magazine clip was found nearby.
A tipster told them Ronald Wilson had killed Gutierrez and police brought him in on unrelated charges for questioning. Wilson denied having shot Gutierrez. A police officer then fabricated a fingerprint forensic report record on his computer stating that the defendant's fingerprints were found on the magazine clip and confronted him.
Faced with that fabricated evidence, Wilson confessed.
The facts may be different, but the attorneys for indicted Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector Tony Yzaguirre say that the fact that Department of Public Safety officer who testified during pre-trial hearings that he had fabricated false titles for cars that he later tried to have register at the tax office was engaging in the same illegal conduct which led to the reversal of Wilson's conviction and freed him of a 28-year sentence.
The Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that any evidence – including Wilson's confession – obtained by police using forged or fabricated state documents was inadmissible and violated several statutes of the Texas Penal Code. Wilson's confession was reversed.
During the hearing Friday, Yzaguirre's attorney Eddie Lucio (no relation to Sen. Eddie Lucio) asked visiting judge Manuel Bañales to dismiss all the charges against Yzaguirre obtained through the use of the doctored car registration applications the DPS officer submitted to the tax office. That would include the majority related to the 11 counts of abuse of official capacity, 10 counts of bribery, one count of engaging in organized criminal activity and one count of official oppression.They further listed other acts which included forging the names of other people on the titles and passing them off as legitimate owners so they could register them with the county tax office.
"When they were rejected, he testified he went back and got legitimate names and registration numbers and then they passed," Lucio said. "That is tampering with a government document and should be thrown out. The code is very specific when it says you cannot violate the law to move the process along."
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Court in the Wilson case upheld the decision by the San Antonio Court of Appeals, which held that (1) the interrogating officer violated the law by fabricating a forensic report falsely stating that appellant's fingerprints were found on the magazine clip of the murder weapon; and (2) the trial judge erred in denying appellant's motion to suppress.
Asst. DA Peter Gilman and the prosecution team contended that the falsified state applications used by the DPS officer were not government documents and therefore, excluded from the definition in Wilson. Bañales denied the defense motion and ordered the trial to proceed.
Yzaguirre was reelected to office in November, a few weeks after he was indicted. He garnered 75 percent of the 65,911 votes cast in that race (49,777). Two write-in candidates only got 16,134 votes, or 24.48 percent.
He was recently sworn in and signed his officeholder's bond to take office. He has been prohibited by the court to appear in his office or to perform any official duties until the conclusion of his trial. However, even if convicted, he can remain in office until his appeal is heard by the courts.
To read the Wilson vs. Texas Criminal Court of Appeals decision, click on link below:
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-criminal-appeals/1509726.html
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AFTER MORE THAN 20 YEARS, BEN RETIRES, VOWS TO SERVE
By Ben Neece
Former Presiding Municipal Court Judge
From the mchalereport.blogspot
(The Honorable Ben Neece retired at the turn of the year from the municipal court after an impressive tenure. The longtime presiding judge took to the mainstream press and the internet to express his sentiments upon turning a new page in his life. Here are his words:)
It has been my honor and privilege to have served you for the last 32 years as a Municipal Judge for our fine city. At 61, I have served more than half of my life as a Judge.
Since August 20, 1984, when I was first appointed, and especially after 2006 when I became the Presiding Judge, I have striven to serve the public to the best of my ability and to afford you with all of the guarantees provided for in the Constitutions of our State and the United States.
I have always been cognizant of the impact of fines and other consequences of our laws and regulations on our citizens, especially on the less fortunate. I have developed programs to lessen the burden placed on offenders by the state while still instilling responsibility for their actions.
We have a “safe haven” court in Brownsville, which means that if a warrant has been issued, you won’t be arrested if you come to court voluntarily.
We have a very successful community service program as well, which provides an alternative way to meet obligations to the city and state.
We have developed extensive due process safeguards in our arraignment procedures, including having a prosecutor, public defender, law enforcement case prep officer, and pre-trial services representative attending our morning magistration hearings. We strive to keep the safety of the public in mind when dealing with those accused of violent crimes while providing the accused with meaningful due process.
I am especially proud of our Juvenile Justice System, which serves juveniles from ages 10 to 16. With a budget of approximately $18,000 per year, we have put together a teen court and system of counseling and remedial services that address: 1.) substance abuse issues; 2.) behavioral issues; 3.) gang related offenses; 4.) internet addiction.
We have had very positive results with all of these programs. Included in the teen court is our Community Gardens project initiated in 2006, which has been a model for other similar garden projects implemented throughout Brownsville.
We have also met the mandates of the State legislation creating truancy courts. Working closely with Dr. Esperanza Zendejas of the Brownsville Independent School District and Mr. Luis Saenz, Esq., the Cameron County District Attorney, we established one of the state’s first truancy courts at Brownsville Municipal Court and have been serving the district since shortly after passage of the legislation.
I believe that the citizens of Brownsville know that the Municipal Court protects the rights of citizens, not the interests of government and I am proud to have been a part of this conception.
I am thankful for the opportunity I have had to serve Brownsville and wish to express this sentiment by this correspondence.
With every ending, there is a new beginning. I intend to focus more on the practice of law and trading of commodities, but I will still be here to serve the citizens of Brownsville, albeit in a different capacity.
I’d also like to make a special shout out to the Law Enforcement Community of Brownsville and Cameron County, from the Federal level to the Local level, especially in light of my recent abduction in Africa.
We are fortunate to be served by these individuals and our community is much safer because of their efforts. They do their best to prevent and prosecute criminal behavior, limited only by the resources we provide them. Remember to support their efforts and provide the necessary tools to protect our community.
As I announce my retirement, I bow to the Citizens of Brownsville and offer the Anjali Mudra in humble appreciation of the confidence they have had in my public service. I thank Mr. Charlie Cabler and his predecessors, back to Mr. Kenneth Lieck who originally appointed me, for their confidence in my ability to serve. I hope I have met the expectations of all as I originally prayed I would.
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HELP S-MOST COMMUNITY BOXING CLUB FUNDRAISER TODAY
Want to help out youngsters taking up boxing in Brownsville?
The Southmost Brownsville Community Boxing Club is hosting a "chalupa" lottery and buffet fundraiser this Saturday at the Golden Corral Restaurant located at 4555 N Expressway, Brownsville.
The chalupa will be held from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at the restaurant and miscellaneous prizes will be awarded. The play is limited to adults and there will be no early birds. The price is four cards for $25.
The group trains in a gym above Tony's Body Shop 3407 Burton Drive and is owned by Tony Garcia, who lets the boxing club train there.
Boys and girls from all over the city are invited to train at the gym under the direction of Avila. Numerous fighters help out, including Eddie Vallejo, seen here with his nephew Raul Vallejo, Jr., who is one of the club's rising stars. Kassandra
Demetrio (above) is said to be one of the best 16-year-olds training there.
For more information on the lottery, call Coach Fred "Cacho" Avila at 459-5136.
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