Posted on 02/04/2016 4:36:57 PM PST by Osage Orange
Federal corruption case snares leaders of South Texas city
Published: February 4, 2016
DALLAS (AP) — Almost every top official in a remote South Texas city was arrested Thursday under a detailed federal indictment that accuses them of taking bribes from contractors and sending city workers to help an illegal gambling operator nicknamed "Mr. T."
Crystal City's mayor, city manager, mayor pro tempore, one of three current councilmen and a former councilman were all arrested under an indictment obtained by the U.S. attorney's office in San Antonio, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney said.
A second councilman is already charged in a separate case with smuggling Mexican immigrants. That leaves just one councilman not facing federal charges in Crystal City, a town of about 7,100 people about 50 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.
Once billed as the "Spinach Capital of the World," Crystal City's logo features a cartoon of Popeye, and a spinach festival with a cook-off and a beauty pageant draws tens of thousands of people each year. But in recent months, the town has been in the news for turmoil at City Hall and allegations of misuse of public money.
"What happened is nothing to celebrate. It's something sad that happened to us," said the remaining councilman, Joel Barajas, on Thursday. "By all means, we need to move forward."
The indictment accuses the town's leadership of using their positions "to enrich themselves by soliciting and accepting payments and other things of value." Also charged was Ngoc Tri Nguyen, alleged to be an operator of illegal gambling rooms, who was nicknamed "Mr. T."
Crystal City Mayor Ricardo Lopez took $6,000 from Nguyen to buy a vehicle, the indictment alleges. In return, he allegedly waived some taxes for Nguyen and had employees close competing casinos that violate state law but exist informally throughout South Texas. Lopez allegedly told city employees inspecting Nguyen's property to "make it easy."
City Manager William James Jonas and Mayor Pro Tempore Rogelio Mata are accused of giving a contractor a $12,000 payment "in exchange for payments and other things of value."
And Lopez, Rogelio Mata, current councilman Roel Mata and former councilman Gilbert Urrabazo are accused of voting to keep Jonas as city attorney and city manager at a salary reported by local media to exceed $200,000. In exchange, Jonas provided payments and other illegal benefits to the four leaders, the indictment alleges.
None of the six men had attorneys listed in federal court records, and several messages left at City Hall were not returned.
When Barajas, who was elected to the council last year, tried to have Jonas' contract suspended last month, the rest of the council boycotted the meeting so it couldn't go forward.
Barajas said then that the city had nearly $2 million in unpaid bills and was facing bankruptcy.
Separately, Crystal City Councilman Marco Rodriguez was accused last month of smuggling three Mexican immigrants in the back of a pickup truck.
Residents interviewed Thursday said the arrests are painful but necessary.
"Crystal City is a good town," said 67-year-old Maria Sanchez Rivera, a lifelong resident. "If you do wrong, you have to face your consequences. We've got laws for everything and we've got to abide by what the law says."
Richard Durbin Jr., the U.S. attorney for San Antonio, said he hoped the indictment would help restore public confidence in local government, but that his office could only go so far. None of the officials will immediately lose their positions.
"What we can do is that first step," Durbin said in an interview. "In the end, it falls back on the citizens to make the next decision on who they put in those offices, because that's how the system works."
They would find bigger fish....
Now if the would do the same with US Congress......
“In a surpirse move, all the indictees suddenly changed their name to “Hillary Clinton”, and launched a bid for the Presidency...”
Ha!!!
Henry B. Gonzales Democrats doing what they do best.
No just a little attention to Hill Clinton would be good. Not just some TX border guys getting barely enough money to buy a used car.
50 miles from de border ? Si!! Can you imagine? Soon there will be a BIG WALL with a big gate for legal entry under lawful rules. THANK GOD !!
Dem town in South Texas? I’d have been more surprised if they weren’t highly corrupt.
Is this Richard Durbin, Jr. the son of Dick Durbin, RAT of Illinois?
Huh?
I can READILY understand Mr. Ngoc as an operator of illegal gamling rooms but the nickname of "Mr. T."????
Hahahahahaha!
"mister t" would be a more fitting name.
The jokes that could go with this picture/caption are unlimited but probably not proper at FR.
However, I’m mentality saving and savoring them. LMAO.
‘
If you can read minds, come on in. The humor is fantastic.
let the state handle this, I do believe the treason statute is still effect, if it isn’t, it should be.
a fair trial then hang the SOB’s.
BIG walls with lots and lots and lots of really mean German shepherds on both borders.
Middle easterners use the Canadian borders to sneak into the USA.
TOO MANY Americans WANT the illegals to sneak in. Then they don't have to provide health insurance, unemployment insurance, health benefits or retirement for the illegals.
And the illegals pay NO income tax. Win-win for those too cheap to pay for American labor and lose-lose for the IRS. [Oh my, boo-hoo for the IRS.]
Good old Crystal City!
I remember back in the 60’s when the people of mexican heritage took LBJ’s suggestion to vote en masse and threw out the entire city council and political structure that were white in one big election.
A few years later they begged the original members of the ousted government to come back since corruption was so rampant and incompetence run amuck and they did come back to save the city.
Fast forward: Today the city is run like those in Mexico and the morals are the same. No wonder out of control corruption has been discovered. It’s the Mexico way!
Elect Mexican politicians and you get Mexican government.
Yes !!!!
Add this article to your file “MEDIA BIAS” and use it in future posts, articles, discussions. I suggested that those of you who are interested in “media bias” create a “library” of articles that show different types of “bias” from “incompetence”, “ignorance of a subject/history”, political bias, ideological bias, and deliberate bias (deliberately providing misleading information or disinformation to further their own bias and agenda).
After a couple of weeks, you should have at least 10 good examples to show to people to back up your contention that a lot of the mainstream media and even local media is for crap.
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