PENA IN DEEP DO-DO AGAIN; MCDONALD ON THE SPOT

By Juan Montoya

Like a bad case of recurring dysentery, the case arising from Ruben Peña's handling of a multi-million agricultural estate belonging to the late La Paloma farmer Rex L. McGarr has once again returned to haunt the recently defeated candidate for Cameron County Commissioner for Pct. 2.

And the latest manifestation of the consequences resulting from Peña's handling of that estate that resulted in virtually none of the heirs receiving their bequests listed in the will of the from the aged farmer has landed in the lap of Cameron County Court -at-Law 1 Judge Arturo McDonald.

It is unknown whether the group actually exists or whether is a tongue-in-cheek acronym for the group's disdain for crooked lawyers.

The case filed by heir Esperanza Suarez is listed on a cover sheet to the resp

onse to a motion by Peña asking McDonald to grant him a summary motion to dismiss her case claiming the statute of limitations had expired in the case is joined by a group calling itself "Citizens Against Corrupt Attorneys," or "CACA."

The decision on the hearing for the motion for dismissal was filed by Suarez's attorney Lilia Gonzalez and is scheduled for Tuesday at 8:30 A.M. She was unavailable for comment.

Peña had argued in his motion for summary judgement that the statute of limitations on the case had expired after three years. Peña and Robert H.Pedraza, the farmer's 300-acre ranch manager, were listed as co-executors and trustees of the estate by McGarr, then 82, who was in poor health at the time the will was drafted.

Peña also had McGarr give him power of attorney over his estate to "adminis

ter as if it were his own" and to make the bequests to those listed on the will.

During the course of a trial by the heirs in federal court, transcripts indicate that none of the heirs, except for Pedraza, received the funds McGarr had bequeathed them. During that trial, Peña deflected questions about his actions concerning these bequeaths and said Pedraza – a non-attorney – was to have negotiated an agreement with the farmer's remaining family, including several nephews and his sister.

When the heirs brought the case to trial, a local judge – Everardo Garcia – ruled in favor of Peña, only to have his decision overturned by the 13th Court of Appeals which ruled that case law dictated that Peña had not submitted a final accounting and distribution of the estate before a probate court.

Additionally, Suarez, in her response to Peña's motion to dismiss her claim said that because of Peña' failure to include a supportive affidavit and his motion for summary judgement was "not sworn to or certified as required by law."

She claims that – in accordance with the decision by the court of appeals – until Peña files his "final accounting and distribution to the will and to the trustee mandates that the case is still open and pending," and she has standing to bring the action before McDonald's court.

Additionally, her response states that it would not be proper for a trial court to render summary judgement based on limitations when a fact issue exists as to whether the estate is till open" and that Peña has brought "numerous suits incident to an estate pending in probate court. Thus the proceedings in probate court bare still open and are not barred by the statute of limitations."

"Art is in a difficult position given Peña's political connections," said an attorney acquainted with the case. "If he decides to grant the summary motion based on the expiration of the statute of limitations, he runs the danger of going counter to the Court of Appeals precedent in the case. If he doesn't, he could incur the wrath of the Peña and Vela clans."

Peña is the brother-in-law of former City of Brownsville Mayor Blanca Vela, who is the widow of the late federal judge Filemon Vela Sr. During the recent race for Precinct 2 commissioner, his handling (or mishandling ) of the McGarr estate was a major part of the his opponent Ernie Hernandez's campaign.

After the election, he formed a group ostensibly to fight the presence of politiqueras (political operatives) that he claimed had stolen the election. However, the effort ended in naught when not enough allegedly "stolen" votes could be found to overturn the election results in favor of Hernandez.

"If the heirs are claiming that their bequests were illegally withheld from them and Peña was claiming that the election was stolen from him by politiqueras, this seems like a case of poetic justice," quipped a courthouse regular. "