Thursday, April 20, 2017

AT COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS, COMPADRISMO BREEDS INEPTNESS

By Juan Montoya
We have written tons of stuff relating to the compadrismo and favoritism practiced by supervisors and directors of Cameron County's Public Works Department.
That department is one of five under the direction of County Administrator David Garcia and his assistant Xavier A. Villarreal.

The Administrator's Office oversees all non-elected County Departments including: Facilities Maintenance, Information Technology, Health and Human Services, International Bridge System, Human Resources, Parks, Planning and Development, and Transportation.

But while the getting's good, why not. Garcia clears more than $200,000 for his troubles while Villrreal draws a lucrative $185,000 salary.

Yeah, we know. There is  not humanly possible for these two to oversee all these departments on a day-to-day basis. And they don't. They delegate the job to the likes of Road Administrator Ruben
Gonzalez (El Gordo) and a handful of maintenance an construction foremen. It is these underlings who actually run the crews and pick the people who work for the road crews in the county. (That's Gonzalez in the graphic at right swigging a few.)

Many have come form local municipalities and utilities (City of Brownsville and PUB, for example). Some have left under a dark cloud amid allegations of wrongdoing.
To say they lack supervisory or professional road building and construction experience would be an understatement.

We have documented the many deficiencies of these gents in the past that has resulted in waste and pilferage, not to say sorry service to the residents and taxpayers of the county.
We have learned that just yesterday, an operator of a tractor mower in Pct. 3 named Lupe Guzman was involved in a collision while operating his equipment where he struck a vehicle. Now, in Cameron County that is not as uncommon as you might think.

But what makes this incident stand out is that Guzman just happens to be a good buddy with Road Administrator Gonzalez, who has taken him under his wing. In short, he is one of his favorites and can do no wrong. His coworkers say that Guzman drives a county truck and also operates county equipment despite the fact that he has to blow into a car breathalyzer under a court order to assure he has not consumed alcohol. He does this every time he leaves work at the yard. How was it that Gonzalez allowed this employee to operate county vehicles?

Under county policy, Guzman will now have to take a drug test and take a defensive driving course before he is allowed to operate a county vehicle again? Will he?

We have documented before that another Gonzalez, favorite, Construction Foreman Sanatana Vallejo, of Pct. 1, and who earns $45,614, was recently involved in an accident that he didn't report until he couldn't cover it up any longer. In that case, Vallejo backed up his county pickup into a fence post and broke one of his rear lights. He raced to a nearby car parts store and then brought the part back so that county vehicle maintenance employees could replace it and no one would be the wiser and he wouldn't have to undergo the drug test and defensive driving course. But the cat was out of the bag and he was forced to take the course. (That's Vallejo on the left with his favorite greeting.)

This was the same Vallejo who was charged along with others with selling cement driveway pipes that belonged to the county to rural residents and only escaped going to trial when his lawyers scared the witnesses into not testifying because they might be charged with buying stolen goods. Before that, while at the city, Vallejo left under  cloud of suspicion after it was discovered that cement from the sidewalk construction project he was in was ending up on private driveways and that property owners said city workers had installed them for them for a price

And remember when it was Gonzalez himself who was in hot water?
Back in January, Gonzalez, who earns $71,074, was driving County Engineer Paolina Vega and showing off the new 20-foot wide paved section of Oklahoma Road in the county's southwest end when he inadvertently slid off the newly-paved section and into a bar ditch with his passenger.

He quickly called some of his trusted workers and had them pull his truck out. There was going to be no report written, and things wold be kept quiet. But then someone threw a monkey wrench into works. A passing motorists saw the truck in the ditch and snapped a photo which they sent to this blog. (See graphic on top of this post.)

With the cat out of the bag, the county's Human Resources Dept. had no choice but to strip him of his driving privileges and make him take the defensive driving course. But of course, there was no disciplinary action taken against him since it was just an "accident."

It's not what you know, the saying goes. In the county, it's who you know an and politick for. 

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

So what!!!!

Anonymous said...

Doesn't county have a no tolerance policy especially when it involves an accident with county property.Commissioners what the hell are you all thinking keeping these idiots on tax payers dime.

Martinez said...

What's new that is how county works it's full of corruption, favoritism , and bullshit. That is how Gonzales runs the county.

Martinez said...

What's new that is how county work favortism, corruption and bullshit. That is how commissioners run this county and tax payers money. And I do care because I Am a tax payer.

Anonymous said...

Why do you think the public works function in this city would be managed any better than other functional areas. This poor management and cover-up is reflective of the poor management and lack of transparency from the top city leaders, down to the mower operators. A truck in a hole at one end of the chain of command, and millions of dollars spent on real estate to help out Julieta Garcia....both are examples of covering things up. And, Rose Gowen refuses to debate with her political opponent because she doesn't want to have to discuss her role in those millions of dollars of mis-management; and issue far more important that driving a truck into a ditch. Its time the city commissioners were confronted by the community on their mismanagement.

Anonymous said...

Compadrismo? How many contracts has the county engineer's husband gotten for his construction company since Vega took the helm? Try that on for size.
That's why he don't care who's truck she's riding in.

Anonymous said...

So what Juanito, This is business as usual. Look at Gus Reyna with the Sheriff Dept. Picture after picture of him drinking on county units and then has an accident and covers it up. Nothing was ever done to him, no drug test, no report, and no write ups from el viejito Lucio. Mr. Saenz, I think its time for you to ruffle these feathers. Look at his brother Javier, family violence and all y nada ever done to them.

Noone956 said...

This is terms of defamation of character since Gonzalez is not an elected official. This slander!

Anonymous said...

JOHN WOOD. ERNIE ERNANDEZ.ALEX DOMINGEZ. COMMISSIONERS COME AND GO STILL THE SAME SHIT BEEN THERE.NEVER ENDING STORY EX-COUNTY EMPLOYEE.

Anonymous said...

Wha about Gus Reyna how many cover ups for him ????? Why not ask the sheriff about the trucks and cars he has wrecked on county time and dime! The sheriff knows Gus has a problem with drinking why not test him Gus is a much bigger liability to the tax payers but yet he continues to be protected by the sheriff and his posse

Anonymous said...

It seems that some commissioners are scared to let go "fire" all those trouble makers, worthless, uneducated, criminals, incompetent supervisors and favorites because they might be keeping some little secrets. we need Donald Trump to come and make Cameron County GREAT!!!!!

Anonymous said...

And Constable Gomez used his county vehicle to get to his security gig at Dog House last night, and so on, and what's new with Cameron County

Anonymous said...

Anonymous at 2:53 Agree with your argument but it seems you're mixing county and city. Both City and County commissioners should be held accountable .

Martinez said...

It's corruption and favortism. It is always who you know. Just like Mr. Gonzales right hand man who drives his truck home and has no title but used tax payers money to ride around on county's gas.

Martinez said...

Yes, Mr. Gonzales is not an elect official he is SUPERINTENDENT to PCT 1,2,3,4

Anonymous said...

Hey Juanita also check into how the present director of human resources Villarreal was fired from amphels for selling jobs to the highest bidder and now lands a job with the county. Its time that each county commissioner and county judge put the county administrator on the hot seat and demand answers and accountability .

Anonymous said...

No dang Referees in these fiascos !!

Anonymous said...

We don't need a dang referee we need the Commisioners to step it up and do something about all these issues.

rita