Free Republic

CORPUS CHRISTI — Jim Wells County District Judge Richard Terrell has been appointed to oversee the criminal cases against former law firm operator Mauricio Celis. J. Manuel Bañales, presiding judge over the fifth administrative region, signed an order this week appointing Terrell to the case. Bañales removed visiting Judge Mark Luitjen in May after defense attorneys argued he showed at least the appearance of bias against Celis. Bañales had appointed Luitjen, a former Bexar County district judge, in late 2007 after two local district judges recused themselves from hearing the case. Bañales oversaw Celis’ sentencing hearing May 18 on his...

CORPUS CHRISTI — A judge on Thursday went beyond a jury’s recommendation of probation for Mauricio Celis, sentencing him to a year in jail and restitution, likely about $1.35 million, as conditions of 10 years probation, pending Celis’ appeal. In February, a jury convicted Celis of 14 counts of falsely holding himself out as a lawyer. Visiting District Judge Mark Luitjen also set Celis’ appeal bond at $700,000, an amount Celis’ attorneys said was excessive and that they would appeal to the 13th Court of Appeals. Celis was taken to jail Thursday after the sentencing hearing because he did not...

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...

Embattled law firm operator Mauricio Celis is enrolled in a legal science program in a Mexican university but doesn't have a Mexican license to practice law, according to documents filed Tuesday. District Attorney Carlos Valdez, who previously said Celis does not have a law license in Mexico, filed supporting documents. Celis has said he has done nothing wrong, citing a professor's opinion that in Mexico people without registered licenses can offer legal advice and argue cases in court. Valdez filed English translations of documents from La Universidad Regiomontana in Monterrey and the Mexican Secretary of Public Education stating that Celis...

A major contributor to Democratic causes and candidates has surrendered to face charges that he impersonated a lawyer and a police officer. Mauricio Celis turned himself in Monday and then was released after posting $50,000 bail. District Attorney Carlos Valdez argued for $1 million bail, saying Celis was a flight risk. "I don't appreciate the fact that the prosecution is treating me like a second-class citizen," Celis said during the hearing. Celis has contributed thousands of dollars to state and federal candidates, including the presidential campaign of Sen. Hilary Clinton. Several candidates for state office who accepted campaign cash from...

CORPUS CHRISTI — A civil rights group says the sheriff investigating a law firm owner who has been accused of impersonating a lawyer and sheriff's deputy is violating the man's civil rights. Ramiro "Gambi" Gamboa, the civil rights chairman for LULAC Council No. 1, said the media and Nueces County Sheriff Jim Kaelin have violated Mauricio Celis' civil rights in reporting the investigation into his recent activity. Celis, who owns CGT Law Group International, is a Rockport-Fulton High School graduate and major donor to Democratic causes in South Texas and nationally. He was relatively unknown to the public until a...

SAN ANTONIO — Mikal Watts didn’t have a fighting chance — politics were in his life from the start. As a toddler, he rode in a stroller as his mother marched in a farm workers’ rights march in Austin. Politics made for dinner table conversation and filled the pages of books in the family library. He attended fundraising barbecues with his parents. Before the age of 18, he knocked on doors registering people to vote. In the years since, Watts has risen from law-school whiz kid (he received a degree at 21) to nationally known product liability lawyer and political...

Please Join Us for the Todd Hunter Campaign Kickoff Wednesday, February 20 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. USS Lexington in Corpus Christi with special guests: Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams and hundreds of Coastal Bend residents who want to see real change for common-sense, conservative government

A nude woman fleeing a groping impostor? Lying about academic credentials in court? Owning a controlling interest in a Texas law firm without having a license to practice law? In these days of Norman Hsu and the Fujian fundraising scandals, this case may only qualify as a minor embarrassment to Hillary Clinton and Texas Democrats. Mauricio Celis got indicted on a slew of charges yesterday as I left Corpus Christi, and the fundraiser may join Hsu in the rogues' gallery for the 2008 cycle: A major contributor to Democratic causes and political races was indicted Friday on charges of falsely...

I often tell my lawyer friends I know they'll never lie to me. They'll always tell me half the truth. It's a lawyer's job to present the half that benefits his or her client. Or his or her own self. It's somebody else's job to tell the other half. So I believe Mikal Watts when he tells us he quit his quest to replace U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, after sinking millions of his own money into the campaign, because he wants to spend more time with his family. But I also wonder if it has anything to do with Mauricio...

Days after investigators from the Texas Attorney General raided his office with a search warrant hinting at illegal drug connections, Mauricio Celis issued a statement denying he has any involvement with the narcotics trade. “Let me be crystal clear: There is not, has never been, and never will be a dime of drug money in my pocket, in any of my bank accounts, or in my life,” the law firm operator’s statement reads. Investigators raided the offices of CGT Law Group International on Friday, removing computers and financial documents related to several businesses connected to Celis in what has turned...

Last November, I wrote about the case of Hillary Clinton backer Mauricio Celis, whose ownership of a law practice resulted in an indictment containing charges of impersonating a lawyer and fraudulent business practices. Now the state of Texas has a new investigation of Celis which includes money laundering and suspected involvement in Mexican drug cartels: Mauricio Celis is linked to the Mexican drug trade in a search warrant the state used Friday to raid his law offices and gather computer files, according to financial documents and other business records. The warrant includes a sworn statement by a Texas Attorney General's...

CORPUS CHRISTI — Mauricio Celis hasn't been charged with a crime, but South Texas Democrats he supported are feeling pressure to distance themselves from the man under investigation on allegations of impersonating a lawyer and a peace officer. Celis has donated more than $415,000 since 2002 to Democratic political campaigns -- including to a judge who issued a restraining order at his request on short notice, and the former Nueces County sheriff he now employs. Those numbers don't include more than $36,000 donated to candidates by Celis' firm, CGT Law Group International. Three local state representatives last week donated...

A major contributor to Democratic causes and political races was indicted Friday on charges of falsely holding himself out as a lawyer and impersonating a public servant. Mauricio Celis, a Corpus Christi businessman, has a controlling interest in the CGT Law Group of Corpus Christi even though he is not an attorney. Now, he's being accused of practicing law without a license. Texas law prohibits anyone from owning a controlling interest in a law firm unless he is a licensed lawyer. Celis has contributed thousands to state and federal candidates, including the presidential campaign of Sen. Hilary Clinton.

CORPUS CHRISTI — A grand jury returned four felony indictments against Mauricio Celis on Friday, including perjury, falsely holding himself out as a lawyer and impersonating a public servant. An arrest warrant will be issued after the indictments. Nueces County District Attorney Carlos Valdez said he expects Celis to turn himself into authorities. Valdez also said he has not ruled out the possibility of further investigation. Celis’ attorney, Tony Canales, was out of town until late Friday afternoon and unavailable for immediate comment. The four indictments include: -- One count of aggravated perjury, a third-degree felony, for testifying in May...

Although Corpus Christi businessman Mauricio Celis and his lawyers repeatedly have claimed he is a lawyer in Mexico — including in sworn testimony by Celis — his law school transcript from Mexico says otherwise. Records for the Universidad Regiomontana in Monterrey, obtained through the Mexican Secretariat of Education, show that while Celis got high grades in law school last year, he hasn't finish his studies. The transcript, stamped "incomplete," indicates Celis began his legal studies in January 2006 but remained several semesters away from completing the course work. According to a Mexican law instructor at St. Mary's University in San...

An insurance company has sued indicted law firm operator Mauricio Celis, saying it shouldn't have to pay legal bills for him and his firm. Evanston Insurance Company says Celis lied on an application for professional liability insurance by claiming he was a licensed attorney in Mexico and it should not have to pay lawyers to defend him in four civil suits filed against his firm, CGT Law Group International. Celis, 36, was indicted in November on charges of impersonating a police officer and an attorney and on charges of perjury. The Nueces County District Attorney's office says Celis lied when...

AUSTIN, Texas - Authorities raided the offices of an influential Democratic donor on Friday, prompting accusations by the donor's attorneys that the raid was politically motivated. The state attorney general's office said it was assisting the Nueces County district attorney in the criminal investigation of Mauricio Celis, 36, who has given money to major Democratic candidates including Hillary Clinton and is the subject of numerous ongoing lawsuits and charges. Attorney General Greg Abbott, a Republican, sued Celis in November, accusing him of practicing law without a license. Agents from Abbott's office were among those involved in the Friday search of...

CORPUS CHRISTI — The District Attorney’s Office opposes a motion for Mauricio Celis to regain his passport, saying he is a flight risk. Celis, 36, is out on bail, indicted in November on four charges, including perjury and falsely holding himself out as a lawyer. He surrendered his passport as a condition of bail, though his attorneys say he needs it to travel to Mexico to aid his defense. Celis said in a statement that he doesn’t need the passport to go to Mexico, but to return to the United States. The State Department requires passports to return by air,...

State Rep. Juan Garcia has been fined $1,800 by the Texas Ethics Commission for campaign finance violations, including a failure to disclose a $12,500 campaign contribution. The commission also found that Garcia, a freshman Democrat, failed to disclose information about out-of-state donors in two instances and in 24 instances violated rules that require candidates to list the occupation and employer of donors who give more than $500. Garcia said the violations were technical difficulties that occurred in the final days of a tough campaign. "We had 950 individual donors," Garcia said. "That's 24 of 950." He said many gave through...