The public corruption case is very complex and involves the legal, political and business communities of El Paso. Newspaper Tree presents stories, primary documents and some reading about public corruption cases elsewhere to provide a little context.
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Nine people have pleaded guilty to public corruption charges. Here are their guilty pleas, filed in the form of a document called an "information":
-- Betti Flores
-- Bobby Ruiz
-- Chris Pak
-- Tony Dill
Here are the NPT stories regarding their pleas:
-- Travis Ketner, June 8, 2007
-- Betti Flores, July 7, 2007
-- Bernardo Lucero, Aug. 17, 2007
-- Carlos Cordova, Nov. 28, 2007
-- Bobby Ruiz and Chris Pak, Dec. 21, 2007
-- Raymond Telles, March 18, 2008
-- Tony Dill, June 18, 2008
-- Fernando Parra, July 15, 2008
; Fernando Parra hearing, July 15, 2008 (see related stories below)***
Some of the other court action revolves around efforts to disqualify one lawyer, efforts by another lawyer to disqualify the judge hearing the cases, a request to open files and proceedings by activist Carl Starr, and the indictment of a target on unrelated charges of child pornography:
-- Fernando Parra was arrested in February and charged with counts related to child pornography. An FBI agent testified at the bond hearing that the agency came across the pornography when searching Parra's computer. During the hearing, Parra's relationships with various politicians and other targets of the investigation came to light. [Feb. 6, 2008, Parra Indicted, Bond Granted, Then Appealed] [Parra indictment]
-- Carl Starr filed a lawsuit against the government in March to challenge the secrecy measures. “The level of public interest and concern with the substantial issues regarding corruption and administration of justice presented by the case cannot be overstated,” Starr wrote in his motion to intervene in the string of cases. [march 26, 2008 npt background] [motion to intervene] [may 12, 2008, closed courts, public corruption] [may 28, 2008, corruption court stays closed, but judge offers new information ]
-- Lawyer Martie Jobe has filed a lawsuit against Travis Ketner, claiming he defamed her in his guilty plea. Then she tried to force recusal of District Judge Frank Montalvo, who is hearing the public corruption cases. [Aug. 7, 2007, Jobe argument] [Aug. 10, 2007, decision on the issue]
-- Montalvo disqualified lawyer Mary Stillinger from representing three clients who were called targets. They were Ysleta school district Trustee Mickey Duntley, El Paso school district trustee Charles Roark, and NCED Chief Operating Officer Ernie Lopez. [July 27, 2007, disqualification]
[Aug. 8, 2007, clarification of issues]
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NPT stories on various events and issues:
-- May 16, 2007, FBI raids county
-- June 14, 2007, FBI focuses on district clerk
-- May 18, 2007, explanation of search warrant process
-- June 29, 2007, business as (mostly) usual in the County Courthouse
-- Aug. 10, 2007, interview with District Clerk Gilbert Sanchez
-- Aug. 21, 2007, interview with FBI SAC Manuel Mora
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Public corruption is prevalent in the United States, most often appearing in the news in relation to local politics. Some stories to provide context:
-- Christian Science Monitor writing in 2005 about Chicago
-- Wikipedia page on Orlando politician Ernest Page
-- Times-Picayune 2007 story about New Orleans
-- American Heritage magazine history of New York City corruption
-- Memphis Commercial Appeal writing in 2007 about a "culture of corruption" in Memphis
Ken G
May 16, 2008
We need to know who were the bribers and bribees. Indictments should be forethcomings. Investigations can continue.
Alice
June 6, 2008
Don't forget the investigation/inditement of SamCorp, the construction company that's done almost all of UTEP's jobs. The investigation has caused the construction of the new bookstore to be stopped, at least temporarily. These guys are crooks.
Ray Ruiz
June 8, 2008
We have the largest Public Corruuption case in United States History. We have eclipsed in size New York and Chicago Public Corruption Investigation. This is evidence of all of the Influence peddling which has been standard procedure for El Paso Elected officials since the late fifties.
We hope that all 88 targets become indicted, tried, and convicted. Their actions (the 88) are being scrutinized. We hope that their financial transactions are observed to make sure that not only their reputations suffer but their families bear a financial catastrophe.
Perhaps a example for other public officials. The Public should not be fleeced.