THE ROPE TIGHTENS AROUND ERNIE, NORMA, OTHERS

By Juan Montoya
Whether it's the scandal surrounding the alleged illegal hiring of his brother-in-law Roberto Cadriel, the manipulation of the mail-in ballots by his wife Norma and her cadre of paid politiqueras, the buying of those votes at the Brownsville Housing Authority High-Rise or or the continuing joint Texas Attorney General-US Attorney into the harvesting of mail-in votes, the noose is tightening around the Hernandez political machine.
And sources say he has already negotiated for partial payment of his $800,000-plus arrears in taxes with the Internal Revenue Service and had to forfeit his home and other properties as partial payment for the debt.
"He's living in an apartment at the VICC," said our source. "He still owes the government money."
Cameron County District Attorney investigators looking into the facts surrounding the hiring of Cadriel as a noncommissioned security guard at one of the international bridges are said to have located Cadriel and questioned him on who was involved in getting him qualified for hire through the Civil Service examinations.
When Cadriel – the brother of Norma, Ernie's wife – first took the test, he failed it miserably and scored in the 30s out of a possible grade of 100. The second time he didn't do much better and his score didn't rise above the 30s that time either.
The, as author Joseph Heller said, Something Happened.
The third time someone took the test for him he scored in the 90s and was hired as a security guard.
With Cameron County being as leaky as a sieve, it didn't take long for newshound Emma Perez-Treviño to get the scoop and both Cadriel and interim Human Resources director Robert Lopez flew the coop immediately after it became known that county authorities were looking into the hiring.
When Ernie was asked about it, he said he had heard about it when he read the newspaper's online edition.
After a grand jury was convened to look into the matter, Cadriel became scarce, and Ernie's administrative assistant Raul Salazar – with one felony conviction under his belt – was the only one indicted.
But just recently we've learned that investigators had tracked down Cadriel and that they had spoken with him regarding the matter. What Cadriel may have told them is unknown.
All these things coming down at once in the year prior to Ernie seeking re-election does not bode well for the Hernandezes. Norma figures as an important principal in the mail-in investigation that benefitted both Ernie and their daughter Erin, now Justice of the Peace.
And now we are getting wind of a related battle within the Cadriel family over the will of deceased patriarch Joe Cadriel Sr. in which he named five beneficiaries. Apparently, Joe Jr. (former BISD chairman) was named as the executor, but a search of the courts indicates the will was never probated and some beneficiaries (including Robert Cadriel) did not receive their inheritance as it was dictated in Joe Sr.'s will.
Was the security guard gig a kind of "hush money" in return for Robert keeping mum on the division of the estate among a select group of heirs?
We have a suspicion we have not heard the last of Ernie and Norma's (and perhaps Erin's as well) troubles. The noose, as the man said, is tightening.