Tuesday, January 14, 2014

BISD TRUSTEES SERVED WITH LAWSUIT BY CATA, LUCY

By Juan Montoya
The four Brownsville Independent School District trustees who voted to censure trustee Catalina Presas-Garcia and did not allow her and trustee Lucy Longoria to discuss district issues during meetings were served with copies of lawsuit filed by the attorneys for the two women in federal court.
Trustees Otis Powers, Jose Chirinos, Minerva Peña, Cesar O. Lopez, Superintendent Carl Montoya and board counsel Baltazar Salazar were served during Tuesday night's regular board meeting. Montoya was sued as an individual. The lawsuit also named the BISD as a defendant.
Enrique Escobedo is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Some of the charges listed in the lawsuit involve claims that the majority of the board denied the women their First Amendment rights through retaliation and constraint. The lawsuit also charges that the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to deny the women their rights and includes a charge of defamation.
Among some of the charges was that the majority violated the Texas Open Meetings Act and that the defendants actions led to corruption in several actions by the board in the awarding of lucrative contracts
Longoria and Presas-Garcia charge that the harassment and retaliation against them has been persistent and ongoing since 2011. At various points in time, both questioned the majority’s decisions and actions pertaining to insurance contracts and agreements, employee voluntary group insurances, insurance consultants and other issues. They say that their speech and actions in questioning the majority’s decisions were made as trustees and at time as private citizens. They claim that the defendants had established a practice of steering lucrative contracts to specific individuals and/or companies and that decisions had already been made prior to the specific committees' recommendations so that specific contracts were awarded to specific vendors.
On one occasion, the lawsuit states that Catalina and Luci became aware of the fact that (the late board president Enrique) Escobedo went to a job site at the new Brownsville Academic Center in September, 2011, to negotiate a change order with a subcontractor to sub-contract with Escobedo’s brother’s company, American Surveillance, instead of Circle Industries, the company that had already been contracted by Texas Descon, L.P. These facts, the lawsuit states, were documented in a letter written by Carlos Guerra, an employee of BISD.
Among some of the other issues included in the lawsuit are the termination of legal counsel and the awarding it to another pre-chosen firm before the firm's work was over. Powers is quoted as saying that since the previous board had also terminated the former legal representatives, it was the turn of the new board to terminate this one.
The day after Thompson and Horton’s services were terminated, (both women) witnessed Dr. Montoya having lunch with Baltazar Salazar (the eventual counsel chosen) at Amigas Restaurant, and it appeared that they were already negotiating Salazar’s contract which they claim was a violation of Board policy and of the Texas Open Meetings Act.
They charge they were cut off when Longoria questioned the awarding of a $3,000 raise to Port of
Brownsville commissioner Martin Arambula, also a BISD employee, and linked it to a a $3,000,000 contract awarded by the port to American Surveillance, a company owned by (the late Enrique) Escobedo’s brother (Jaime), and Escobedo’s employer. Escobedo was also Vice President of American Surveillance. Catalina suspected that the contract given to American Surveillance in conjunction with the timing of Escobedo pushing for Arambula’s pay raise and the granting of a payday loan contract to Arambula’s sister with the BISD were linked.
While Longoria was questioning the board about these actions, Escobedo cut her off, called for a vote and did not allow her to speak in violation of Robert's Rules of Order.
Shortly after that, Escobedo invoked procedural limitations on the legitimate conduct of the women as trustees and submitted three revised local policies, BED (Local), BE(Local) and BDB(Local).
The net effect of these changes, the women charge, is that of excluding both of them as trustees from submitting agendas, disallowing their comments, disallowing adequate and allotted time for their comments on issues before the board, removing both from all committees of the board, and prohibiting them as elected trustees from participating in any debate over issues pending before the board.
Another issue raised by the women was their objection of the hiring of Baltazar Salazar on April 2, 2013, as district counsel because of previous felony arrests/convictions. Salazar had tried to  expunge three offenses from his rcord, all which were felony theft by check cases, without success.
Those arrests were recorded in  District Court of Cameron County on  April 26, 1984 in Cause Number 85-CR-450-A. The lawsuit charges that although a trial court initially granted Mr. Salazar’s request for the expunction, that decision was overturned by the Court of Appeals, Thirteenth District of Texas, Corpus Christi-Edinburg, on August 15, 2013. Although district policy prohibits the employment of individuals with felony arrests and/or convictions, the majority voted to hire him anyway. On December 10, 2013, the same board  majority voted to extend Salazar’s contract for another three years.
The women charge that Salazar lied on his application regarding what he was formally convicted of and the disposition of his charges, and BISD, in a conspiracy to hire an attorney that would do its "dirty work," purposely did not look into his criminal past.
There are numerous other instance where the women charge that the defendant board members conspired to hire BISD employees who had helped Escobedo get contracts for his surveillance company, and also appoint a trustee (Cesar O. Lopez) who was purchasing agent in Mercedes when American Surveillance was granted a contract with the Mercedes ISD.
The women also questioned the appointment Lucio Mendoza as the BISD's new CFO because Mendoza was the former Purchasing Director from Mission ISD and he had recently recommended and awarded a  $865,000.000 surveillance contract to American Surveillance, the Escobedos' company, even though American Surveillance was not the lowest bidder.
Both women charge that as a result of the First Amendment violations and the violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act by the defendants they have violated their rights by interfering with their duties and responsibilities in the capacity as a public officer entrusted with governing and overseeing the management of the district.
The women are being represented by the Law Firm of Star Jones and the Frank Perez Law Firm, of Brownsville.

34 comments:

Pancho Nopalez said...

A pinches Mexicanos, why the fuck can they just get along. Wusss up with my people, always fighting with one another.

Anonymous said...

Hey Juan is that a man or woman in the first photo? That face needs help!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

So disappointed in Luci Bautista Longoria! Really thought she was better that Caty. Guess we were wrong! They are both broke and looking for free money at the expense of the Tax Payers and BISD Students. Luci what happened to YOU?????? Just because Caty suited BISD before and took money from them does not mean you have to do the same thing Luci! Triste, Bien, Triste!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

What a bunch of B.S.! All this will do is go to court and bring out all of Luci and Caty dirty laundry.

Anonymous said...

In yesterday's BISD meeting, it was scheduled to have a little memorial for the late Enrique Escobedo. In typical Caty Presas fashion, she sues the board and makes mention of dealings of the late Escobedo. This same woman that would go out of her way to publically humiliate Escobedo at every meeting, decided to steal some air time and say some nice things when he passed on behalf of the BISD board...the same one she sues today and the same Escobedo that she made very clear she hated. This woman has no shame, no respect...no class.

Anonymous said...

Good job ladies. The corruption must be exposed somehow.

Joaquin said...

It was clear by the questions during her censure that they didn't even know what they meant. Escobedo probably knew what a "censure" was but the other puppets just followed his lead.

Anonymous said...

I'm with 9:53AM. It seems you morons would rather turn a blind eye to bid-rigging and corruption running rampant at BISD, because you have some attitude with Presas. Go Girls!!!!

Anonymous said...

Everyone knows the late escobedo appointed lopez to the board because lopez have Mercedes isd contracts to escobedo's brother. Lopez is a puppet of both escobedos.

Anonymous said...

Good job ladies. The others just want their piece of the PIE. That Ceasar Lopez was only appointed because he have the escobedo contracts at Mercedes school he is too a puppet

Anonymous said...

So much for '' all about children''

Anonymous said...

If the board attorney had a felony record, he wouldn't have a law license. You would think Star Jones's bright legal mind would know this. A buen palo se arriman! Sounds like nothing more than a smear campaign in which all of these people, including the ones suing will get smeared. So now, these ladies file a lawsuit and look to get money from the School District they represent. Heck of a way to make a living. And now they want to waste our tax dollars on stupid litigation. Ponganse a trabajar como el resto del mundo.

Anonymous said...

Corruption is one thing. The man is dead. Dead men don't speak. The way that Caty acted yesterday tells you she is truly a person that could stab any one in the back. She put on a show for the public. hugged and kissed Escobedo's mother and gave her condolences with one hand. Then slapped them with a lawsuit with her other hand! WE NEED NEW HONEST/ NOT SNAKES IN THE GRASS BOARD MEMBERS.......VOTE THESE PEOPLE OUT .......CLEAN OUT THE BOARD

el monkey shines said...

juan its always about the benjamins nothing more or less. period

Anonymous said...

Regardless if you like/dislike these two dames they should have been given the right to speak their rhetoric.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Montoya you should have read the lawsuit before writing their story. Obviously they don't even know who they sued and how they were listed.

Anonymous said...

These two ladies were elected by us voters and the have the same rights as the other board members. You all should respect these ladies because they are there to represent us that voted them in. I applaud both of them for standing up for what the belief and stand for, they took an oath and are living up to it.
It's about time these ladies eere brave enough to stand up to these egotistical, unethical, abusive, disrespectful board majority.
Have you heard....Majority rules, minority rights!
Learn something before you open your mouth and say idiotic things you have no clue you all are talking about.

Anonymous said...

Very proud of these ladies. No one should put up with any kind of abuse, humiliation, harrasment and intimidation. It was so sicking to watch the meetings and see how the ladies were repeatedly abused and humiliated in public with no regard to the citizens and more importantly the employees and the students. What kind of role models are the board majority. Sadly, what kind of message did the late board president send out???

Anonymous said...

Maybe someone higher up helped Baltazar get his license regardless of his criminal record. What surprisesme and is so disappointing is Dr. Montoya and Minerva Pena looking the other way. Two law enforcement people, doesn't say much of their integrity.

Anonymous said...

Luci didn't do it for the money, she doesn't need the money.
She did it for the principle of it.
If she was money hungry don't you think she would have jumped on the wagon with the rest of the abusers?

Anonymous said...

Fucking two women that sued are the only ones posting anything positive. You are both sacks of shit.

Anonymous said...

I agree with 6:34......6:02 & 6:11 anonymous/Presas

Anonymous said...

How do you it's them postin you sack of shit fuck face?

Anonymous said...

Go get them Caty!! Keep fighting the good fight!! Expose them a la Sharon Stone!

Anonymous said...

If they win the law suit and any money is awarded, they should donate it to the school district or another worthy cause. That would show their true colors.

Anonymous said...

I agree!!!!

Anonymous said...

I also agree!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for exposing corruption.

Anonymous said...

You mean the franklins that Otis, Minerva, Chirinos and now Cesar are allegedly getting under the table?

Anonymous said...

Let's start with Minerva, Cesar, Chirinos, and Otis?

Anonymous said...

Es Cierto? Just check the links?

Anonymous said...

i would investigate the school bus purchase too, I wouldn't doubt they got a piece of that pie too.

Mr. Mahoney said...

folks why do these bisd trustees have to hire legal reps and then pay them with our own taxpayers monies, i beleive that they asked for it so they should cough up their own fucking money to pay their legal counsels since they screwed up and not us taxpayers bola de cool arrows.

Joaquin said...

Because you, the people, voted for these pendejos, that's why. Next time, make sure those idiots around you voting blindly for the person with the best grilled chicken plate read a fucking newspaper first.

rita