By Juan Montoya
He was in a dead heat in the race for the office of Cameron County District Attorney when incumbent Luis V. Saenz surprised the members of the joint task force working "Operations Dirty Deeds" and publicly arrested Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector Tony Yzaguirre and a handful of tax office employees.
Among those were two commissioned tax investigators – Joe Mireles and Pedro Garza – who lost their commissions as a result of the charges against them and were terminated from their employment. For a year, both were left without a job.
After a year, Cameron County had to give them their back pay and reinstate them. The cost to county taxpayers? How about $74,700 for both of them for the one year that they were out of work.
Despite the complaints from some members of the county commissioners court, the $74,700 was taken from the county's general fund, not from Saenz's DA budget."We had two individuals that were with the tax assessors office who were terminated because they didn't have the proper documents...requirements,,,for not being able to do the job that they were doing," Garza asked County Auditor Martha Galarza. "And now we're paying them their back pay after all the charges were dropped, right?"
"Yes, the charges against them were dropped and they made a legal claim on a number of grounds...," answered commissioners court legal counsel. "We were authorized to make our peace to make this issue go away..."
"Where does this money come from, the general fund?," Garza asked.
"yes, the general fund," Galarza answered.
"Don't you think we need to ask the district attorney's office in paying these funds?," Garza persisted. "We lost two employees for almost a whole year and we have to go back and pay them, and you know we lost their services, I don't know it kind of leaves a sour taste, not for the employees, but for the taxpayers of Cameron County having to endure the process of having to go through this..."
"I'm sure it was a sour taste for the employees as well," Galarza replied."
"I'm sure it was, OK," Garza said.
"Going along with commissioner Garza's comments, the public has a right to know what transpired and what's occurring with taxpayers money," said Pct. 4 commissioner Gus Ruiz.
And just last month, when Yzaguirre petitioned the trial court to expunge any record of the charges made against him after his acquittal by a jury in Nueces County, his attorneys found out that the county clerk's office there would not release the records until Cameron County paid for the costs of holding the trial there.
That cost, in addition to the travel and lodging for Cameron County prosecutors, brought the total to county taxpayer for the Yzaguirre debacle to $96,492* (*Does not include personnel salaries of the DA and Asst. DAs, the money paid to expert witnesses, Department of Public Safety officers, Texas Rangers, investigators, etc.)
Below are the costs for the trial in Nueces County charged to Cameron County taxpayers as per the county auditor's office:
Mireles, Garza: $74,700
To the hotel: 14,262.30
Travel: 1,888.20
Adtl Travel 3,999.50
Nueces County1,742.00
21,700
$74,700
$21,892
$96,492*
Numerous critics say that the joint task force of Operations Dirty Deeds was not in agreement with Saenz that Yzaguirre and the two men should be charged at the time.
They say the arrests were carried out prematurely (immaturely?) because Saenz was in a tight race with Carlos Masso in the race for district attorney. Numerous political observers say Yzaguirre's arrest carried Saenz over the top, especially with voters in the northern part of the county.
Did county taxpayers, in effect, subsidize the reelection of DA Saenz by nearly $100,000 as a result of the botched arrests and prosecution that timed and were carried out for apparent political purposes?