POWERS TAKING FOES' SIGNS? CORTEZ, ZAYAS SERVED

By Juan Montoya
For the past two or three weeks, some candidates for the board of trustees have complained that someone was stealing or knocking down their signs.
For the most part, it was those candidates opposing Rick Zayas, Ruben Cortez and Otis Powers.
Yet, until Sunday night, no one had any idea who might be doing it.
On that night, at about 9 p.m., someone apparently filmed three men knocking over and taking signs that belonged to Daniel Pena and Eric Garza, both candidates for Position 1 where, aside from Powers, Christina Saavedra is also vying for the post.
Sources that the Pena family members shadowed Powers, his brother Darryl, and Bobby Rodriguez, a contract worker for Rick Zayas and Ruben Cortez, after they noticed their signs kept disappearing. Instead of their signs, they said that Powers' signs would be standing in their place.
Pena and Garza reportedly are filing charges against the three men and using the film they took of them as evidence with the Brownsville Police Dept.
Other candidates, notably Luci Longoria, Zayas' opponent, has voiced frustration at not finding her signs at the locations her workers placed hem. Longoria is the lone opponent against Zayas.
Sources indicate that Powers is scheduled to appear at the Brownsville PD Wednesday morning to answer questions from detectives concerning the signs found in the back of a truck occupied by the two Powers brothers and Rodriguez.
Others say that Powers has claimed that the men had permission from landowners to take down the signs. But the excuse sounds flimsy because that doesn't give a candidate justification for taking them from the property, they say.
"What landowner is going to give you permission to steal?," asked an opponent's supporter. "Those signs cost money. I doubt that a landowner would tell someone to take his opponent's signs, especially at night."
Powers is running under the slogan of "Integrity," " Character," and "Proven Leader."
He has numerous relatives working for the district, including his wife Sandra, a sister, a brother, and a sister-in-law.
Sources close to the former trustee says he is not ready to take the blame for other signs belonging to other candidates in other races. It is unknown whether he will turn evidence that Rodriguez might have been involved in the disappearance of signs belonging to opponents of Zayas and Cortez.
Sources say this is not the only such case under investigation by the Brownsville Police
Meanwhile, process servers are said to have served Zayas and Cortez with notice that they had been sued by Carlos Quintanilla and Accion America for defamation and libel. The men were served today, sources said.
The case stems from a posting on the blog Brownsville Voice which the plaintiffs claim insinuated that Quintanill and Longoria were involved in an illicit relationship.
The quotes that wrre used as the source for the remarks came during a deposition of Quintanilla in a previous defamation suit filed by Zayas and Cortez against the Accion America director. Quintanilla testified under oath he was sometimes driven to the airport or to meetings around town by Longoria.
The blogger has denied the charge claiming they were made in a "political" context. In a post he said that Longoria went outside the courtroom and ran to Quintanilla as if toward her "lover" and said that and other details proved that Longoria "was in bed" with Quintanilla.
The case was filed in Dallas, where Quintanilla hopes it will be heard.
Despite persistent efforts to find the blogger - one Robert Wightman-Cervantez - servers have been unable to serve the process papers.
"It even seem like he's on the lam," said a source close to the case. "He's never been home when they look for him here."