Free Republic

Last week I reported that Judge Yarbrough’s service on the board of American National Insurance Company appears to violate state law and the county’s ethics policy. However, the real story is not a piddly $366.00 annual lease, but is actually the county’s relationship with Moody National Bank. After submitting a formal information request, County Treasurer Kevin Walsh stated that the county has approximately sixty accounts with Moody National Bank worth $100 million.

Further research into Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough’s service on American National Insurance’s board of directors has revealed that his entire nine-year tenure has been illegal. Judge Yarbrough’s service violates not only the county’s ethics policy but more importantly Section 81.002 of the Texas Local Government Code which prohibits county judges and commissioners from serving as an officer or as part of the governing body of a publicly traded corporation. According to Greta Bassett with American National Insurance Company’s investor relations department, ANICO has been a publicly traded company since 1972 not 2009 as first reported by Fox’s Randy Wallace...