By Juan Montoya
As scrutiny turns toward the perpetrators of the fake Brownsville Taxpayers Political Action Committee (BTPAC) which mass mailed thousands of anti-Caty Presas Garcia political post cards, indications are that it is a far-reaching web that includes her opponents and hidden interests who have spent $1,000s to prevent her re-election as Place 5 trustee on the Brownsville Independent School District.
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The web reaches from the desk of BISD general counsel Baltazar, his sister Liz Vera's realty company (Liz Realty), and anti-Presas Garcia financial backers who funded the fake PAC's construction of an Internet website (since shut down), and paid to produce the mass mailing of the negative political literature.
The 400 E. Alton Gloor mailing address of the BTPAC's office has been discovered to have been a rented mailbox address from an Alton Gloor Road pack-and-ship postal franchise and the address of its treasurer's "residence or business" has turned out to be an empty lot on 925 N. Iowa Avenue in Brownsville.
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And calls to the treasurer's number (Juan Flores Leal, 429-2471) have gone unanswered.
The Cameron County Appraisal District website indicates that the property listed as Flores' address (925 N. Iowa) belongs to the Marser Corp. and is one of the listings held by Lenny Vera, husband of Liz Vera, owner of the Liz Realty and sister of Baltazar Salazar, the BISD 's general counsel.
Marser Corp.'s lists is office at 7941 Southmost Road.
A visit to the Southmost address indicates that the house there is up for sale, and has a Liz Realty sign in front of the house and property.
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Both Salazar and Liz Vera have made cash political contributions to one of Garcia-Presas' opponents Laura Perez-Reyes. On August 1, she reported receiving a $2,000 cash contribution from the general counsel. Then, on Sept. 6, she reported that he again gave her another $2,000.
Salazar earns $264,000 a year after trustees – with only Presas-Garcia voting against – gave him a 25,000 raise in June and extended his contract for another three years.
On Sept. 1, Liz Vera (also a BIS teacher) made a $400 in-kind contribution in furniture to the Perez-Reyes campaign. How was it that two of the properties in her listings ended up linked to the BTPAC and how did anyone know the properties were both for sale?
The PAC's campaign expense report to the Texas Ethics Commission for its campaign contributions and expenses indictate that as of Sept. 29, the PAC had no money and had spent nothing in the BISD election.
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Thousands of the political cards started showing up all over town in the past week under the PAC's political disclaimer alleging that Presas-Garcia has coast the sitrict millions in dollars through litigation. BISD insiders who are knowledgeable about BISD litigation involving the incumbent trustee say the numbers are misleading and that in some case, they are deliberate distortions of the fatcs behind the litigation.
However, there is no question that the PAC has spent thousands of dollars creating, producing, printing and mass mailing the misleading cards and of paying for the maintenance of the BTPAC's website.
That website, by the way, was taken down immediately after it was reported that the treasurer's address was an empty lot in a N. Iowa barrio. Likewise, as more was revealed about the shady PAC and its motives, the owner of the pack and ship company said he would stop lending his services to the non-existent organization.
"We all wanna clear everything up especially myself as I have already decided to discontinue the service I am providing them," wrote a commenter who said he was owner Jesus Molina.
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A reading of the cards flip side indicates that the mailing permit of the ad agency that designed them (though perhaps not printed them) is out of McAllen with a permit number of 417. That is the same miling permit number of MindShare Marketing & Advertising owned by Ben Guerrero, who also happens to be “The Fred Loya Guy” of television, billboard, print and social media ads for El Paso-based Fred Loya Insurance.
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It's hard to think that Mindshares was able to 1. get the contract from BTPAC, 2. do the legal research, 3. formulate the campaign and images, 4. come up with the design,5. and order the printing and mass mailing all in less than two weeks between Sept. 29 and October 10 when the cards stating showing up in local BISD voters' mailboxes.
And who paid them and approved the final product all in less than two weeks?
Guerrero, by the way, was the moderator of a debate for Place 5 candidates in which both Presas-Garcia and Perez Reyers participated. At one point in the debate, when Perez-Reyes was getting flustered, Guerrero whispered to Presas-Garcia to "take it easy on her."
Guerreo's MindShare's also happens to have the Cameron County Mobile Authority and other local entities and has one of his clients Mike Hernandez's OP 10.33 messianic organization.
In fact, the mailing permit (417) that appeare on the anti-Presas-Garcia cards is the same one that appeared on the mass mailings of OP 10.33 Navigation District candidates Ed Rivera and Raul Villanueva.
Guerreo's MindShare is also responsible for the billboards dotting the Brownsville area for OP 10.33.
Both the Texas Secretary of State and the Texas Ethics Commission are well aware of the anti-Presas Garcia campaign and the questionable (and possible) criminal acts of the BTPAC and we are told it's already being look at. Presas Garcia said she is considering filing a complaint with the TEC and the Texas Attorney General's Office to see if any election, postal, or criminal code violations occurred.
As scrutiny turns toward the perpetrators of the fake Brownsville Taxpayers Political Action Committee (BTPAC) which mass mailed thousands of anti-Caty Presas Garcia political post cards, indications are that it is a far-reaching web that includes her opponents and hidden interests who have spent $1,000s to prevent her re-election as Place 5 trustee on the Brownsville Independent School District.
The web reaches from the desk of BISD general counsel Baltazar, his sister Liz Vera's realty company (Liz Realty), and anti-Presas Garcia financial backers who funded the fake PAC's construction of an Internet website (since shut down), and paid to produce the mass mailing of the negative political literature.
The 400 E. Alton Gloor mailing address of the BTPAC's office has been discovered to have been a rented mailbox address from an Alton Gloor Road pack-and-ship postal franchise and the address of its treasurer's "residence or business" has turned out to be an empty lot on 925 N. Iowa Avenue in Brownsville.
And calls to the treasurer's number (Juan Flores Leal, 429-2471) have gone unanswered.
The Cameron County Appraisal District website indicates that the property listed as Flores' address (925 N. Iowa) belongs to the Marser Corp. and is one of the listings held by Lenny Vera, husband of Liz Vera, owner of the Liz Realty and sister of Baltazar Salazar, the BISD 's general counsel.
Marser Corp.'s lists is office at 7941 Southmost Road.
A visit to the Southmost address indicates that the house there is up for sale, and has a Liz Realty sign in front of the house and property.
Both Salazar and Liz Vera have made cash political contributions to one of Garcia-Presas' opponents Laura Perez-Reyes. On August 1, she reported receiving a $2,000 cash contribution from the general counsel. Then, on Sept. 6, she reported that he again gave her another $2,000.Salazar earns $264,000 a year after trustees – with only Presas-Garcia voting against – gave him a 25,000 raise in June and extended his contract for another three years.
On Sept. 1, Liz Vera (also a BIS teacher) made a $400 in-kind contribution in furniture to the Perez-Reyes campaign. How was it that two of the properties in her listings ended up linked to the BTPAC and how did anyone know the properties were both for sale?
The PAC's campaign expense report to the Texas Ethics Commission for its campaign contributions and expenses indictate that as of Sept. 29, the PAC had no money and had spent nothing in the BISD election.
Thousands of the political cards started showing up all over town in the past week under the PAC's political disclaimer alleging that Presas-Garcia has coast the sitrict millions in dollars through litigation. BISD insiders who are knowledgeable about BISD litigation involving the incumbent trustee say the numbers are misleading and that in some case, they are deliberate distortions of the fatcs behind the litigation.However, there is no question that the PAC has spent thousands of dollars creating, producing, printing and mass mailing the misleading cards and of paying for the maintenance of the BTPAC's website.
That website, by the way, was taken down immediately after it was reported that the treasurer's address was an empty lot in a N. Iowa barrio. Likewise, as more was revealed about the shady PAC and its motives, the owner of the pack and ship company said he would stop lending his services to the non-existent organization.
"We all wanna clear everything up especially myself as I have already decided to discontinue the service I am providing them," wrote a commenter who said he was owner Jesus Molina.
A reading of the cards flip side indicates that the mailing permit of the ad agency that designed them (though perhaps not printed them) is out of McAllen with a permit number of 417. That is the same miling permit number of MindShare Marketing & Advertising owned by Ben Guerrero, who also happens to be “The Fred Loya Guy” of television, billboard, print and social media ads for El Paso-based Fred Loya Insurance.
It's hard to think that Mindshares was able to 1. get the contract from BTPAC, 2. do the legal research, 3. formulate the campaign and images, 4. come up with the design,5. and order the printing and mass mailing all in less than two weeks between Sept. 29 and October 10 when the cards stating showing up in local BISD voters' mailboxes.
And who paid them and approved the final product all in less than two weeks?
Guerrero, by the way, was the moderator of a debate for Place 5 candidates in which both Presas-Garcia and Perez Reyers participated. At one point in the debate, when Perez-Reyes was getting flustered, Guerrero whispered to Presas-Garcia to "take it easy on her."
Guerreo's MindShare's also happens to have the Cameron County Mobile Authority and other local entities and has one of his clients Mike Hernandez's OP 10.33 messianic organization.
In fact, the mailing permit (417) that appeare on the anti-Presas-Garcia cards is the same one that appeared on the mass mailings of OP 10.33 Navigation District candidates Ed Rivera and Raul Villanueva.
Guerreo's MindShare is also responsible for the billboards dotting the Brownsville area for OP 10.33.
Both the Texas Secretary of State and the Texas Ethics Commission are well aware of the anti-Presas Garcia campaign and the questionable (and possible) criminal acts of the BTPAC and we are told it's already being look at. Presas Garcia said she is considering filing a complaint with the TEC and the Texas Attorney General's Office to see if any election, postal, or criminal code violations occurred.