March 20, 2008
El Paso County Commissioner Luis Sarinana issued a statement today saying he never met with lawyer Raymond Telles and wasn’t offered money by him to vote a certain way on matters involving the issuance of millions of dollars in bonds.
Sarinana’s statement came at a press conference in response to the release of the charges to which Telles, a former city council member, pled recently before Federal district Judge Frank Montalvo.
Although Telles said two members of Commissions Court agreed to take a bribe for their votes, all five members of Commissioners Court have said they made no such deal.
“I took office on November 2006 (sic) and since taking office, I have not engaged, talked or met with Mr. Telles, nor was I offered money in return for my vote on Commissioner’s Court by Mr. Telles,” Sarinana said, reading from a prepared statement. “Furthermore, Mr. Telles has never contributed to my campaign.”
Sarinana took no questions from the media.
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Background
United States Attorney Johnny Sutton announced today that 51-year-old Raymond Telles, of El Paso, Texas, was charged by Information with two counts of Conspiracy to commit Mail Fraud, Wire Fraud and the Deprivation of Honest Services. Appearing in federal court this afternoon, Mr. Telles pleaded guilty to the charges contained in the Information. By pleading guilty to count one, Telles admitted to conspiring with others to devise a scheme to defraud the Socorro Independent School District (SISD) and the citizens of El Paso living in the SISD of the right to honest services of elected SISD Trustees in the affairs of the SISD. It further alleges that the defendant attempted to bribe the elected Trustees of SISD, in exchange for their support and vote in their official capacity as SISD Trustees, in violation of their fiduciary duty as elected SISD Trustees, for agreements between SISD and vendors seeking business with the SISD. By pleading guilty to count two, Telles admitted to conspiring with others to devise a scheme to defraud the County of El Paso and the citizens of the County of El Paso of the right to the honest services of elected members of the El Paso County Commissioner’s Court, in the affairs of El Paso County by also attempting to bribe members of the El Paso County Commissioner’s Court for their support and vote in their official capacity as members of the El Paso County Commissioner’s Court. Telles faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine per count. No sentencing date has been scheduled. This is an ongoing investigation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted for the government by Assistant United States Attorney Debra Kanof. *** The information, the legal document with which Telles pleaded guilty, alleges that Telles arranged with elected officials to exchange votes for payoffs in the Socorro school district between 2002 and 2007, and the County Commissioners Court from Jan.1-May 17, 2007. The document, four pages in total, states that Telles "and his co-conspirators sent and caused to be sent and delivered .. pricing trip letters, Preliminary Official Statements, Official Statements, Proposals and other correspondence required as a result of contracts ... [and] transmitted and caused the transmission by wire, in interstate and foreign commerce, writings, signs, signals, pictures and sounds including electornic mailings of funding analyses and wiring instructions and the wire transmission of large sums of money." The document, which can be viewed at the link at bottom of page, states that Telles violated Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1349, 1341, 1343 and 1346. It states that the actions took place between Sept. 29, 2002 and June 2007 in the SISD, and Jan. 1 to May 17, 2007 in the county. It does not specify the actions or actors involved. *** Context
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.
Officials in the county and the EPISD have pleaded guilty, and businessmen who have pleaded guilty thus far have implicated the El Paso Community College and the Socorro School District. The first three guilty pleas, filed in the form of a document called an "information":
--- Betti Flores
Here are the NPT stories regarding the guilty pleas:
-- Travis Ketner, June 8, 2007
-- Betti Flores, July 7, 2007
-- Bernardo Lucero, Aug. 17, 2007
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Some of the other court action revolves around efforts to disqualify one lawyer, and efforts by another lawyer to disqualify the judge hearing the cases:
-- 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