As print news reporters, bloggers and broadcast media regale us with details on the depth of corruption that ruled in the morass of the Cameron County system of justice, we now know that there was very little justice being dispensed there.
There was one tier of treatment for those who could afford it, another for those who couldn't.
If you were a drug dealer or had money and could make wads of cash, real estate or vehicles available to the inside clique allied with DA Armando Villalobos, former district judge Abel Limas, former State Rep. Jim Solis, Mando's former partner Eddie Lucio, San Benito attorney Oscar de la Fuente Jr., or assorted middlemen, you could walk.
If you didn't, your case would be afforded a perverse sort of treatment that did not include (at its extreme) a dismissal of a murder charge, a 60-day reprieve from serving a 23-year sentence for killing your former lover while you got your affairs in order, and special treatment in your pleas before the local judiciary.Everyone in the clique, it has now become clear, stood to make money from the legal system.
Murderers could go free, perhaps innocent people would get thrown in jail, and victims of wife beaters and domestic abusers would continue to suffer at the hands of their abusive mates because a "deal had been cut."
In the case of Pepe Villarreal, he got to walk and have a murder case dismissed in Leonel Alejandro's court after he agreed to give up nearly $1 million in seized property. Villarreal was accused of killing his son-in-law. By circumstance, the son-in-law's neighbor happened to be a former county employee who worked with me. The murder victim left two children with their mother, the accused murderer's own grandchildren.
Testimony indicates that after convicted former sheriff Conrado Cantu was arrested, a cabal of those in the know – Villalobos, Solis, Limas, Dela Fuente, David and Dan Sanchez, etc. – met to formulate ground rules on how to conduct themselves in the future and established a golden rule of assuming the person they were talking to was wearing a wire.
This is the epitome of cynicism because they in effect were admitting not to utter any incriminating statements in case they were being recorded. In other words, they would not abandon the racket, merely formulate strategies to make it harder to catch them at their game.
I will leave it up to Emma Perez-Treviño to do what she does best, provide the intricate mechanisms that allowed these legal predators to suck the lifeblood of legitimacy from the Cameron County judicial system. Regardless of the outcome in the Villalobos trial, the damage has been done and it will take years before an average citizen can feel confident that when he walks into a local courtroom he will receive a fair shake from the system. Justice has been shown not to be blind, but rather to turn the other way for a buck.
After hearing some of the details of how these fine upstanding gents from our local communities used their law degrees and public positions to enrich themselves hand over foot and pervert the justice system, I am developing a grudging respect for Ray Marchan who committed suicide for getting caught taking what in comparison amounts to peanuts.
17 comments:
we are all victims! we are still being held hostage by their replacements. look at da. luis saenz, omar sucio, and aurora de la Garza. peter gilma's daughter stealing from child support proceeds. joey de la Garza getting away with theft. deputy reyna's son getting away with criminal activity. corruption in the voting polls. NOW WE HAVE RUBEN CORTEZ JR. STEALING THE SEAT FOR STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION? GUY WITH A GED IS REPRESENTING US AT THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION?? AURORA DE LA GARZA'S DRUNK DAUGHTER HOLDING A POSITION THAT REQUIRES A BACHELOR DEGREE AND SHE BARELY FINISHED SCHOOL?? and all of the rest that benefit from all this criminal activity and ignore or look the other way for a future favor. the rest defend these criminals and set up the few of us that actually report the crimes.
NO CONFIDENCE VOTE FOR CAMERON COUNTY CARTEL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND ITS
LES DAS LA MANO Y TE AGGARAN EL CULO.
QUIEN IRA A CORREGIR TODO EL DANO QUE ARMANDO VILALOBOS Y SU MARRANOS NOS HICIERON A TODOS?
THANK YOU FBI! AND THANK YOU MR. HANEN FOR STANDING UP FOR THE OPPRESSED AND INNOCENT. UR NEXT OMAR SUCIO FOR SUPPORTING VILLALOBOS CRIMINAL ACTIVITY!!
ho boy justice is supposre to be blind and not for sale, gee whiz, these group really screwed eveything up in cameorn county, hope he gets one year in prison and license revoked, liek the rest of the gang members seems to me thats all these guys will get from this federal judge in return for a deal, still cutting the deals/cake, oh well.
reply 12.28...you are wright,FBI. CONTINUED with the city ratones and county ratones hay chingos que hacer no paren por favor.
The descent into the muck and mire of favoritism and deals cut over a beer began with the JP Courts in the 60's and them moved to the County Court at Law in the late 60's. Even then it was just favor for favor and no money changed hands.
The tide of corruption began to move upward to the District Courts and when Darrell Hester retired, the last truly straight judge in Cameron County was gone. From then on out it was a cabal of insiders and outsiders had to pay to play.
This situation is nothing sudden or involves just a few lawyers, court employees and judges. It is a corrupt system that started at the bottom and in due time consumed the entire judicial process in Cameron County.
This corruption is not contained just in the Courthouse, it is the norm in every political body and elected official in the county. The only folks who think otherwise are outsiders that don't know shit about how this stuff works.
Those who loose the most are those who need a fair shake in the system, the working poor of Cameron County.
It seems that a lot of lawyers come to Cameron County because they want to participate in the corruption to make themselves rich. Many, like Mando Villalobos, found that corruption was easier than having to work for a living as an attorney. The same was true of "Disable" Limas....and all those who engaged in corruption in our judicial system....the lawyers, the judges and the district clerk's officials (the enablers) Rollie Olvera said in one interview that "there are a few bad apples"...well I would argue that there are only a few good apples in a rotten barrel. As one joke says, "What do you say when you see a lawyer up to his neck in sand?" ANSWER: Not enough sand.
I got one better for you Montoya! That crooked public official Armando Villalobos even paid for Julio Villarreal' federal drug fine from the settlement of money seized from him? Oscar De La Fuente got a healthy check from that settlement along with Armando's kickback! All testified in court the last couple of days!
Very sad ,how these corrupt dipshits abused the system.the Hispanics had to fight for their rights and for justice when the gringos were in charge only to sell it down the road to criminals.They should be ashamed .Honorable men fought for these rights.
I remember when the gringos were in charge. It is wrong when 5% run the show and the other 95% did not, but at least judges and DAs were not bought and sold. That started with the power shift in favor of "Hispanics". That is an unpleasant fact, but it is a true fact.
PART OF HER DONATION TO THE VILLALOBOS EXPLORATORY COMMITEE. THE OTHER THANG EXPLORED BY VILLALOBOS WAS HER A$$.
$420 Ms Michelle Garcia Rancho Viejo TX 05/12/11
HAIR SALOON ALSO DONATED TOP DOLLARS??
$2,500 Ms Jessica Trejo Bliss Hair Salon Brownsville TX 05/16/11
$2,500 Mr Michael P Trejo Brownsville TX 05/10/11
Armando Villalobos Exploratory Cmte: Donors (attorneys enforcing corruption for future favors/money laundering)
http://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtedetail_donors.php?ein=451884441&cycle=2012
former police officer, what the fuck do you know, your just an ex corrupt pig yourself
shut up dipshit
This money was found just before SOGs funding was scheduled to run out. Then magically they happen upon $900,000 in a tractor trailer. The owner doesn't know about the money but receives a check for $42,000. Then they find out about money in a house $500,000 and nobody is arrested or goes to fail in either case!!! AND they get to keep the tractor trailer and houses and nobody goes to jail....one or two weeks before SOG was going to disbanded because of lack of funding. Somebody wanted these rats to keep "working"
shame shame shame, pure cameron county greed that sall folks, these guys deserve what they get even if its one year in jail plus stripping of their robbing license opps law license i meant. monkey
puros ratones grandes, and here we all thought they are there to uphold the law, well yea for their own benefits, lets keep voting for them all, and i bet my money luis saenz is also involved in this limasgate, a poco no luis? I dont think for one moment you are a saint cuz you are a deacon at guadalupe church and hand out the communion? Remember God is watching you chuy.
The bliss hair salon and DA Trejo, was money payoff to erase Ms Trejos's arrest record, after confronting and beating Mr trejos younger lover in front of Brownsville PD.
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