CHIEF GOING TO THE PORT? CABLER BACK TO POLICE?

By Juan Montoya
Looking for a more laid-back gig, Brownsville Chief of Police Carlos Garcia has apparently agreed to leave the top cop position to accept the job of head of security at The Port of Brownsville, according to sources.
Garcia is among some 25 applicants for the position, sources at the Brownsville Navigation District have confirmed.
"It's a done deal," a former port official on condition of anonymity said Wednesday. "Barring any strange shenanigans, it's just a matter of making the announcement. There may be some loose ends (Garcia) needs to take care of, but this is something he really wants to do."
Garcia would replace legendary lawman George Gavito, who left the port amid a cloud of confusion and controversy. "Garcia is the flip side of Gavito. He'll be a good fit. The board doesn't need anyone making waves."
The connection between Gracia and the port apparently hinges on the role of Rosendo Escareno, familiarly known as "El Pinatero" because of his ownership of a party store. Escareno ran the campaign of BND chairman John Reed and is well known to have a close personal relationship with both Reed and Garcia.

Sources at the port said that when Reed came on board, that was the death knell for the Gavito who was a thorn on the side of his brother-in-law Mark Hoskins, vice president for operations of Gulf Stream Marine, the largest stevedore company at the port.
That company has been the object of several workplace deaths (some say five in the past decade alone) by the federal Occupational and Safety Hazard Administration (OSHA), and by extensionn the port's police department.
A city official on Thursday did not dispute that Garcia was leaving; she added that a bigger surprise is that Garcia may be replaced by City Manager Charlie Cabler, which on the surface does not make much sense. Why would Cabler want to go back to where he came up from? Or has the city commission suggested he might want to look around?
A source close to Cabler said the city manager pointed out that he could not be in line for the city's police chief since the city manager recommends and the city commission approves the hiring of the chief. However, he did not deny that if he resigned and then told the commission he was available for the job that the hiring could then occur.
Then on Thursday night, another independent reliable source to El Rrun Rrun sent us the following message on Facebook:
"I may be wrong! But it’s my understanding the Chief of Police Garcia is leaving the City of Brownsville, to be the head of security of the Port of Brownsville…. Hmmm and the City of Brownsville, City Manager Cabler is going for the position Chief of Police’s job… should be interesting…"
The Port's Chief of Police position is a Professional Employee 3 (PE3).  The minimum salary is $52,743.60 and the maximum is $92,301.30, to be negotiated withe the eventual candidate selected. On Thursday, Brownsville Navigation District Public Information Officer Manny Ortiz said the port has had at least 25 applicants for the position.
"The application period is not over," he said. "We are still taking applications, but I can tell you that in all likelihood we should have a chief on board by the holidays."
"The ideal candidate would be someone who has been a police chief," Ortiz said. "The port is like a small city. You also have the issues of being a port of entry and an international border because we are on the border."
Ortiz said that a police chief at the port would also oversee the safe refuge clause in case Mexican vessels have to find a safe harbor in case of a storm or hurricane out in the Gulf of Mexico. He would also be in charge of enforcing the isolation of docks and vessels as the law might require, he said.
"I feel sorry for the other 24 applicants," said a former port employee. "The hiring of Garcia has been in the cards even before Gavito resigned.
A further brick in this wall is the fact that several port commissioners are miffed when they requested that they be part of the selection process only to be rebuffed by Reed who said the task would be left up to Port Director Campirano, a Garcia supporter since he took office.