Trial of South Texas Democratic fundraiser begins

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — An influential Democratic fundraiser and owner of a South Texas law firm presented himself as a lawyer despite no evidence of a state licence to practice law, a prosecution witness testified Tuesday.

Mauricio Celis, a major Democratic fundraiser and contributor whose favored candidates include Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, faces 23 counts of impersonating a lawyer. He is not licensed to practice law in the United States.

His attorney, Tony Canales, told jurors during his opening statement Tuesday that he will show that his client was an attorney in Mexico and did not tell people he was licensed in Texas while working at the CGT Law Group International, in which he holds a controlling interest.

The prosecution's first witness, Manuel Orlando Narvaez, a Corpus Christi attorney who employed Celis as an investigator, testified that Celis showed him a document in 2000 that suggested he was a lawyer in Mexico.

"He put it on the wall in his office," Narvaez said. "I concluded that it was a Mexican license to practice law."

Celis has claimed he is a lawyer in Mexico, where he was born and studied judicial science at La Universidad Regio Montana in Monterrey. But he testified in May 2007 in another case that he did not have a cedula, the Mexican equivalent of a bar license.

Narvaez, godfather to Celis's oldest daughter, said he decided to never hold Celis out to be an attorney.

At CGT Law Group, Celis provides auxiliary services such as translators, transportation and other client needs. Texas law prohibits anyone from owning a controlling interest in a law firm without a law license.

Celis is expected to be tried on other charges including money laundering, theft and impersonating a peace officer in separate trials.

Celis' ex-associates unsure of status

By Denise Malan
Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Celis is accused of impersonating a lawyer.

Two lawyers who worked for Mauricio Celis' law firm testified Wednesday they are no longer certain of Celis' Mexican law credentials, though they believed he was a lawyer while they were associated.
"I've heard both sides of the issue, and I don't know," lawyer James Hada said. "I guess that's why we're here today."
Hada and lawyer Doug Gwyther testified they never saw a law degree or license from Celis. A third lawyer, Chris Pinedo, said he saw a framed document on Celis' office wall that he believed was a diploma.
The lawyers, who all worked for CGT Law Group International, are three of nine prosecution witnesses to testify so far in the trial in which Celis is accused of falsely holding himself out as a lawyer. Testimony will continue today.
Pinedo also confirmed Celis signed a settlement document as an attorney but said under cross-examination that the client received no legal services from Celis. The settlement document led to one of 23 counts of impersonating a lawyer.
All three attorneys testified they were aware of Texas State Bar rules that prohibit sharing attorney fees with non-lawyers but that they believed Celis was a Mexican lawyer.
Gwyther testified that he and Celis took great care to set up CGT legally with a partner in Washington, D.C., named Raul Tapia, whom they had met through political fundraisers. Washington is the only jurisdiction in the country that allows non-lawyers and foreign lawyers to partner in firms.
"We were trying to be above board," Gwyther said. "It was a relatively new idea, and we knew it would be scrutinized."
Prosecutors say Celis, 37, broke the law by listing his profession as lawyer on business documents, by signing a settlement document, accepting attorney fees and representing himself as a lawyer to the police chief, according to indictments.
The defense says Celis, who was born in Mexico, is licensed to practice law there and never held himself out as a Texas attorney.
Also Wednesday, the prosecution used Celis' testimony in a 2007 civil trial over attorney fees. Ray Thomas, a McAllen lawyer who represented a firm being sued in Zapata County by CGT Law Group, read Celis' testimony in which Celis said he was a licensed attorney in Mexico and that he received a law degree in Mexico. Prosecutors have filed documents showing he has not received a degree.
Celis' testimony in that hearing resulted in a perjury indictment that was later thrown out in Nueces County for improper venue and forwarded to Zapata County for possible re-indictment.
Several times during the 2007 hearing, Thomas asked Celis if he was a licensed lawyer.
"I'm considered a lawyer in Mexico, sir," Celis responded.
Lead defense attorney Tony Canales objected several times to Thomas reading the testimony. Visiting District Judge Mark Luitjen overruled the objections.
This is the first of four criminal trials for Celis. If convicted, Celis faces two to 10 years in jail for each count, which would run concurrently, and as much as a $10,000 fine for each count.
He also faces charges of money laundering, impersonating a peace officer and theft.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.