How low the mighty have fallen.
At the arraignment, when the Cameron County District Attorney's Office was demanding that Associate Judge Louis Sorola impose two $35,000 bonds on former Brownsville Fire Chief Carlos Estrada for a charge of Theft by a Public Official and Misappropriation of Fiduciary Property, the judge instead levied $8,500 bonds on both charges.
But there was a caveat.
Sorola also demanded that Elizondo hand over his passport to the court. That way, if he ever tried to abscond on his bond, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the former fire chief to return to the United States without alerting the U.S. Customs agents at the bridge of his identity.
Elizondo comes from a prominent Matamoros family and the fear when he was not found at home by law enforcement Tueasday morning was that he might have fled to Mexico. Instead, he went to the law office of oe Garza, his attorney, and as officers waited for him to emerge, left surreptitiously. AN all points bulleting was issued by the Brownsville Police Dept. until he showed up at the Cameron County District Attorney's Office accompanied by his lawyers and turned himself in.
Elizondo posted his bond and – after he was booked at Rucker-Carrizales – was released to await trial.
But there was another domino that had yet to fall on the luckless defendant.
The City of Brownsville confirmed that it was removing him from administrative leave with pay and suspended him without pay pending the results of the charges.
And these is just the beginning. Hovering out there is an audit/investigation into his personal role in the steering of transfers to Intercity Ambulance Services, a company with whom Elizondo had direct links. One city commission audit revealed that dispatchers – under someone's instructions – transferred patients to that company. In at least four occasions it was Elizondo who personally called to steer the transfers to the private ambulance service.
Now facing those legal challenges and his protectors and enablers – former city manager Charlie Cabler who resigned and city attorney Mark Sossi who was fired – Elizondo will have to look for the best deal he can get.
In order to stave off the release of a fire department audit conducted by the commission's Audit and Oversight Committee, Elizondo released snippets of the nealry five-hour recording where commissioner Cesar de Leon made prejudices statements against two black assistant district attorneys. This led to a huge controversy and a petition bearing 300 signatures calling for his resignation was published in the Brownsville Herald.
OP 10.33, the organization that wants to end poverty in the city by October 2033, responded with a petition bearing 3,000 signatures demanding local leaders focus on bettering the economic and educational conditions here instead of being distracted by the controversy.
There are reports, as yet unconfirmed, that Elizondo as a walking listening post and recorded just about every public figure with who he talked with. Will recordings of Mayor Tony Martinez, city commissioners, Cabler, Sossi, school district trustees, county officials, etc., surface as he deals with prosecutors?
Are you on a tape?