Before he was implicated in the FBI’s public corruption investigation being conducted by the FBI and U.S attorney’s office, Luther Jones enjoyed the fame that goes with a well-known name in El Paso.
Liked by some, despised by others, Jones is known to all in political circles for holding three elective offices in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s and for his later behind-the-scenes ability to help novice candidates win elections.
He is a former Texas state representative, El Paso County attorney and county judge. He has his name on a bronze plaque commemorating the Commissioners Court that built the county’s big glass courthouse Downtown.
He’s proud of that; it’s on his website.
Since June, 2007 when Jones was identified – though not by name – as co-conspirator No. 1 of 19 alleged co-conspirators in the document containing the charges to which John Travis Ketner pled guilty, the political stage lights that once shined on him have been turned off.
Ketner pled guilty to four counts, two counts of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and he described a conspiracy that allegedly involved Jones and others to make money through various illegal acts.
Not surprisingly, that appears to have hurt Jones’ law practice.
A search of El Paso County court records shows Jones as a named attorney in 19 civil cases since 2005, only three of which came to him since he was identified in the Ketner case 14 months ago.
Jones does little criminal work, but he did pick up an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon case last September.
He created a small stir at the courthouse in July by filing a motion calling on 41st District Judge Mary Ann Bramblett to recuse herself in that case.
The motion, filed three weeks before the July 29 trial date for his 46-year-old client, Jesus Gonzalez, charges that Bramblett “holds opinions related to his counsel to an extent and magnitude that her impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”
“More specifically,” the motion continues, “defendant (Gonzalez) asserts that the trial judge, using one or more intermediaries, known and unknown, communicated to his counsel that there would be reprisals taken against him and his clients in retaliation for defendant’s counsel alleged support of the judge’s Democratic Primary opponent.”
Jones could not be reached for comment for this story.
Bramblett’s office advised Newspaper Tree that she could not comment on the situation.
The case file shows no response to the recusal request from Bramblett and a copy of the motion has yet to reach the office of Kerrville District Judge Stephen Ables, the administrative judge for the judicial region that includes El Paso County.
Bramblett’s opponent in the March 4 primary was Jesus M. Olivas, who filed no campaign finance reports and apparently spent no money and took no contributions in support of his election bid.
But he received just under 50 percent of the votes and came that close to defeating Bramblett, a longtime incumbent, who reported spending $67,809 on her campaign.
She also reported $12,598 in contributions and loaning herself $68,360.
One of the two civil cases Jones was hired to defend this year is a slander lawsuit filed April 28 by TV weatherman Robert Bettes against ABC-7’s Chris Swann and KTSM-Ch. 9’s Ben Swann. That case is pending.
Interestingly, Jones was selected to serve on a jury last month in a breach-of-contract property dispute between the owner of Cincinnati Street’s 02 Lounge, George Cisneros, and the owner of the building, Ruben Montelongo.
The foreperson on the jury was a policewoman and Jones, according to one account, was so low-key that it irritated other jurors. That jury awarded Cisneros $275,000.
He still lives in the Fairmont Condominiums near Downtown on North Stanton, El Paso’s high-rise condominium building, where he owns three units.
Two consecutively numbered units are the eighth floor and are on the tax rolls for $82,046 and $68,333. The third, taxed at $62,730, is on a different floor and apparently serves as Jones’ personal office. The FBI had to obtain special clearance from the Justice Department to obtain a search warrant for that unit last year because it serves as an attorney’s office.
His law office at 1011 N. Mesa is leased and he reported $17,515 worth of taxable personal property there.
Being identified as co-conspirator No. 1 on an FBI get-list would make anyone very uncomfortable.
Richard Schwein, a retired FBI agent who was the special agent in charge of the El Paso office in the 1990s, said being No. 1 on a list like that “means you probably better get a good lawyer.”
“But I don’t know that the ranking means a lot,” Schwein said. “There are 80 persons of interest in this investigation, and as they turn over rocks, No. 1 may go down to No. 20.”
Just because Jones is first on a list of alleged or possible con-conspirators doesn’t mean he is the No. 1 target of the investigation, he said.
“It could just have been the order in which he was identified,” said Schwein, who worked on the Martin Luther King assassination, the Abscam investigation into congressional corruption and the Waco and Jonestown tragedies.
“The key will be when they come down with indictments, and you see how many counts are on each individual,” he said.
Schwein’s assessment of Jones’ prospects?
“I think he’ll probably go down.”
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To reach David Crowder, write to dcrowder@epmediagroup.com or call (915) 351-0605
Alex
August 8, 2008
A new low in crowder's reporting. So, Schwein is now the judge, jury and executioner, an all seeing retired FBI agent. What a dope. He should be in jail with his former boss for lying.
Silly
August 8, 2008
This article belongs in US Weekly.
bob paluzi
August 8, 2008
What is the point to this type of reporting? I feel like I am standing at the grocery check out. Why does this community takes such pleasure in bashing apparently productive members?
El Paso
August 8, 2008
Public corruption seems to be rooted in El Paso .
People even want FBI agents in jail instead of those who were the ones commiting the suspected crimes. How backwards and ignorant is that?
That is what is keeping EL PASO in the dark ages.
DJ
August 8, 2008
I’m no friend or fan of the supercilious Mr. Jones, but this story is just sleazy reporting.
Perhaps someone should buy Mr. Crowder a copy of ‘The Elements of Journalism’. By my reckoning, he’s violated at least half of the list with this filing.
Look at the statement “Since June, 2007 when Jones was identified – though not by name – as co-conspirator….”. My daft mind has trouble understanding contrary logic……if he wasn’t named as a co-conspirator, how the hell do you know it was him? How do we know?
Again, I have no interest in defending the subject but we as readers deserve some credibility in the statement of “facts” and there is no credibility offered.
David K
August 8, 2008
Why don't you so-called journalism experts show Mr. Crowder how it's done. After all, you know how it's done, right?
Stop whining. Every news source in town has identified Jones as Co-Conspirator 1. They did so using "context clues" in the report.
They were not using anything they learned in Journalism school, the were using something they learned in the third grade.
Cry babies.
Frank Fundillo
August 8, 2008
Comments 1,2,3 and 5 all look to me like they came from the same person — L.J. Or more likely L.J. wrote half and his law partner girlfriend wrote the other half.
Keep up the good work Crowder. Keep steppin' on those cockroaches. Keep those pointy toed boots on.
Maria Andrade
August 8, 2008
Now this is the kind of reporting I was talking about Mr. Crowder. I think you need to continue to do a shadow background history of the one time greats, this helps those who are ignorant as to who people like Jones are, to understand how easy someone of his stature could reasonably be involved in such collusion of greed and deception.
The fact that Luther Jones is in the limelight and his undies have been hung out to dry will hopefully make him less likely to continue his attempt to manipulate the voters by throwing his money and weight behind their bids for office. Thanks to Jones we have some real ignorants in leadership roles in both city and county and they are there to do his bidding, fight his agenda, or place his agenda items on the list.
Please please make your next story about Gilbert Sanchez and how he rose to fame and how he still believes that he has nothing to worry about. Not everyone is or has been a Jones and his muppet supporters. This is not a new low this is finally a rise above the BS that we have quietly accepted and is finally being said out loud. Kudos to you.
larana
August 9, 2008
why not stay low key? his minions have already infiltrated and are festering all over city affairs. i agree he's a sleazebag, but Crowder, lately you seem to be weilding a biased knife, my friend. Just make sure those you protect so much don't make you their sacrificial lamb as they cry crocodile tears into their gold martinis.