By Juan Montoya
Today's indictment of Jaime Munivez, a former bailiff for District 404th District Judge Abel Limas and also a former investigator with Cameron County District Attorney Arnmando Villalobos signals the almost incestuous relationships between office holders and the defendants in the burgeoning racketeering and corruption case.
Munivez is charged in the federal indictments that he, along with fellow Limas case defendant Jose Manuel Longoria, conspired to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilos of cocaine, to extort, and with two counts of aiding and abetting extortion.
He and Longoria are accused of possessing with the intent to distribute more than five kilos of cocaine and of obtaining $10,000 from a drug trafficker in exchange for a bogus forfeiture document.
The indictment also accuses them of obtaining at least $100 in exchange for Munivez’s efforts to locate a missing truck in the Houston area that contained drug money and that both obtained personal property in exchange for providing information to one Pepe Villarreal regarding his pending charges for murder.
The search for the vehicle with the dirtycash allegedly occurred while Munivez was in the employ of DA Villalobos.
Munivez at one time was a bailiff at the Cameron County Courthouse, and was involved in a July 2003 controversy involving the acceptance by Limas of invitations to exclusive box seats by defense and plaintiffs attorneys in a personal injury case (Whirlpool vs. Sierra) to a Spurs game in San Antonio. Another Limas case defendant, Brownsville attorney Ray Marchan, was also a participant in the trip then.
In the recent probe into the Limas racketeering case, Marchan is accused of giving Limas a $4,000 kickback in return for a lucrative ad litem appointment to a case that resulted in a multimillion dollar settlement. Marchan has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is awaiting trial in the case.
But that's not where all the links end. In March 10, 1995, Munivez accused George Gavito, then chief investigator for the district attorney's office, in a divorce custody deposition of abusing his ex-wife Mary Lou Munivez.
Gavito, until last week, was the Chief of Security at the Brownsville Navigation District. He left amidst allegations of sexual harassment. However, his relationship with Lynn Watson, partner in the firm of Rosenthal&Watson, the firm accused of engaging in racketeering and corruption along with Limas, has raised suspicions about Gavito's sudden resignation and departure.
So far, no unsealed federal documents have linked the former port security chief specifically to the Limas case.
According to a Brownsville Herald bulletin, the indictment against Munivez was initially filed July 19 and U.S. Magistrate Judge Felix Recio issued a warrant for Munivez’s arrest today.
There is, however, another wrinkle in the story. Sources in the courthouse say Munivez's father and Cameron County District Court Clerk Aurora de la Garza's mother are brother and sister.
A part of the Rosenthal indictment alleges that convicted attorney and former state representative Jim Solis and others "at Rosenthal's direction, arranged to manipulate the random case assignment system at the Cameron County District Clerk's office so that cases were filed in courts they preferred and that witnesses were paid to provide false testimony and statements."
Now legal observers are wondering whether further revelations in the case will reach into Aurora's office or involve Munivez's activities while in Villalobos' office that could result in further indictments as the investigation unfolds.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
rita
18 comments:
OMG!!! It looks like "Mandito" needs to worry??? Sources in the courthouse and Mando's house say that Munivez and he were very close??? Watch out Aurora??? Appears that you might be sucked into the web of deceit which you are probably not surprised at??? Didn't Mandito take care of your son's thieving ways since he is Munivez' cousin??? Mando, it appears that the congressional seat is out of reach now!!!
Jaime. Whos help did you have from the inside? And you worked for Judge Hester? He would have hung you by your balls Jaime. If Judge Hester was still here he would have all of your asses in jail in a heart beat, including Aurora, Rosie Sotelo, Villalobos, and all the other sharks who are ivolved in this scandal. Cameron County makes Duval County look like an infant. And then they are all Democrats. Wish Judge Hester was here. No one in Cameron County has had the balls to bring anyone to justice like Judge Hester would have. THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER JUDGE DARRELL HESTER IN CAMERON COUNTY. So the corruption continues in Cameron County. Till the next indictment is unsealed.
They should look at Judge Alejandro too! They say he was close to Limas! Maybe that's why he's helping Maria De Ford. They want someone that is going to help them out if things get ugly!
AND ALL ARE DEMOC-RATS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL
Most excellent! This story gets better every day! And people say there aren't jobs in Brownsville? It's so lucrative Rosenthal came down to apply! And George Gavitio multi tasking,running security, dating out of town lawyers & beating someone else's wife? I'm glad he was smart enough to e-mail all the details. Lets see who's next.Villalobos or Aurorita.
Again, let's hope the federal investigation looks closely at Aurora de la Garza and her "random court assignment" procedure...often called her "after 5 pm non-random" court assignment system which most lawyers were familiar with. All of this had to have been known by Armando Villalobos and likely the entire DA staff. The lack of moral courage or just greed by local attorneys has allowed this corruption to exist. It also allowed Aurora de la Garza's worthless son Joey to skate on a felony...compliments of the DA and Judge "Disable" Limas. Let's hope the feds look at this sideshow on our behalf and purge Aurora and Armando from the system of injustice that they practicd.
Erik,....are you going to protect Aurora? Are you going to take the bullet for her? How many cases have you thrown to courts that they have instructed you to? Riddle me that.
THE FIX IS IN CAMERON COUNTY ! THE FIX IS IN.
You better believe the feds have all the juice on everyone at the courthouse but for now, will hold the info until later years.
One District Judge is enough. A few attorneys is enough to show the local feds did their job for now.
The rest of the crimes by others at the courthouse will be held in file 13 for some years until they need to squeeze either another suspected Judge or attorney.
As for the various courthouse departments such as the district clerk, bailiffs, sheriffs and the d/a's office and court clerks; they are only bad policy violations, bad discretion calls, technicality violations or misdemeanors and the FEDS DONT WANT TO BE ACCUSED OF CRY BABIES ON LITTLE ISSUES OF BREAKING THE LAW ! !
THEY WILL ALLOW THE VOTERS TO DECIDE WITHOUT THE TRUTH COMING OUT !
Cover your ears, can you hear the real attorneys with real balls and real ethics calling for changes at the courthouse ?
If these guys were doctors and hospitals would you trust these same jokers with your health and lives again ?
Where are the real leaders of Cameron County, the real truthful honest law biding citizens of Brownsville, Olmito, San Benito, La Feria, South Padre Island, Los Fresnos, Santa Rosa, Rio Hondo and Willacy County ?
Speak up man speak up and demand resignations, retirements, changes or else remain silent and
ALLOW THE GULF CARTEL AND ZETAS TO COME OUT IN THE PUBLIC ! !
Judge Reynaldo Garza, deceased; Judge Filimone Vela, deceased;
Judge Hester, deceased;
or your siblings speak out or ARE YOU APART OF THIS CORRUPTION TOO .
lawyers, doctors, engineers, bankers, insurance professors from UTB, professors from TSC are you not ashamed, embarrassed by the happenings at the Cameron County courthouse ?
we the common everyday voting citizen are shocked at what is taking place at the Cameron County courthouse and shocked by your silence !
This is where the investigation started. It has to be the way it was a DEA / FBI investigation up until this guy was revealed there was not drug trafficking involved however there was the murder of a Judge that was ruled a suicide and a questionable death of a good man and community leader. An attorney also that expired in a hotel room and a sherriff that offed himself; all the above are very questionable deaths. Rosenthal is an outsider and it still remains to bee seen any evidence of him actually calling a shot or directing anything except maybe a dinner conversation. From the looks of the indictment the Feds dont know anything about the way he operated just the way they explain how he did it either this way or that way and then if they prove he directed then the other counts will be easy to convict him on as well. The Feds have to prove he directed or that he paid for something illegal. I dont think they have any recorded conversations with Rosenthal maybe about Rosenthal. Testimony from convicts and informants dont count. The way the indictment reads tells me it is meant to inflame a jury pool thats it.
Also, I heard the Sanchez family is in the process of giving all that "ill gained" settlement money back. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face and biting the hand? The insurance companies are not on your side my side or our side they are on their side and they dont like to pay and when they do it is always begrudgingly.
Every lawyer in brown town knows that rick zayas and elia cornejo took over the rackets when limas and company lost...bet you...rick and the big lady get it sooner or later.
So what do you think the response would have been to attorneys crying for change in the midst of all this corruption? Hm. Maybe called "crazy"? Maybe retaliated against? Maybe nobody listened - not the press, not the citizens, not the Bar, not the appellate courts? Maybe they listened, but maybe they were also part of it. Where else does Rosenthal operate? Mexico? Austin? Hm. Maybe he just misbehaves in Brownsville. Isn't his Grandfather the founder of Ceasar's Palace in Vegas? You're looking at the teeny tip of the iceberg here. The fix is in many places, mi amigo, by the same cast of characters...
P.S. Don't pay attention to the Democrat thing. They are both parties and neither party. You're going to miss alot if you are only looking one way... ;-)
"obtaining $10,000 from a drug trafficker in exchange for a bogus forfeiture document "
This is a death sentence?
What about Limas Jr.? He worked in the DA's office during the investigation did he not? And from the indictment it cites taped conversations with his father and this is the evidence everything else is supposed. Who they have recorded and who do they have recorded incriminating themselves are certainly two different scenarios? I mean just because dad tells son he is getting money from so and so and for the old horse out in the back yard and it is announced to the whole world doesn't make it true? How much is bragging and boasting and how much was done under the DA's hat? Or the Fed TAP?
I understand the wheels are already turning to empty the Sanchez Family bank accounts of the ill gotten winnings?
Where is Frank Yturria when you need Swiss Banker? LOL
>>So what do you think the response would have been to attorneys crying for change in the midst of all this corruption? Hm. Maybe called "crazy"? Maybe retaliated against? Maybe nobody listened - not the press, not the citizens, not the Bar, not the appellate courts?<<
Preach it. But don't blame me. I voted for Peter Z. Did you?
No. But I "told". And paid a hefty price.
What a coincidence that the cases that started this Federal investigation were of course in Limas' court??? But remember all, the cases have to go through Aurora De La Garza' office??? This is her office??? Is there an employee in that office making sure that those cases went to that court??? Is that person willing to take the "hit" for it??? Did that person do it at "Aurora's" direction??? Only time will tell on this one??? Will Aurora when the time comes take down others??? Her daughter works in the DA's Office??? One of her nieces works in the DA's Office???
When are the Feds going after Danny Robles, Elia "Pig" Cornejo??? Will this corruption shut down the justice system in Cameron County???
wwwwwwwwwooow former employee you seem to know a lot of things ... word in the network is feds have known bout ELIA FATPIG for awhile but nothing comes out who is protecting her? someone outside is controlling the feds i guess and the 'remote controller' will be revealed soon.
Post a Comment