This is the formula for success on how to fleece Brownsville.
First, you convince a conniving lawyer who happens to be mayor to pay you $1 million to formulate a comprehensive development plan. Give it a whimsical name, say Imagine Brownsville, yeah, that's the ticket.
When the purpose of that plan fizzles, you use it as a justification to form an organization devoted toward its implementation as a blueprint for economic development in the city, not for the purpose for which it was formulated.
The, using the plan, you put together a shadow organization made up of some elected officials, but headed by non-elected "leaders" of the community who are not elected, and accountable to no one. Let's call it an oxymoron like, say, United Brownsville.
Place IBC President Fred Rusteberg, a Rancho Viejo denizen, UTB President Juieta Garcia, and Irv Downing, a former banker and employee of Garcia, as the third leg of the stool. Make them the high-falutin' Coordinating Board of United Brownsville and put them in charge of
all its endeavors.
United Brownsville, in turn, convinces eight publicly funded entities to pitch in $25,000 a piece to maintain its executive director and staff in gravy. Hire the former Tea Party mayor of Kyle, Texas, to head the operation. The former mayor, Mike Gonzalez, has left a dismal track record in Kyle, having doubled property taxes and left the city in hock to finance his pet projects and that of his friends. Gonzalez pitches the United Brownsville mantra, growth, jobs, unity, civic engagement, global positioning, etc.
They are the City of Brownsville, the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation
(GBIC), the Brownsville Independent School District, the Brownsville
Navigation District, the Brownsville Public Utilities Board, the
Brownsville Community Improvement Corp (BCIC) and the University of
Texas-Brownsville/Texas Southmost College." It matters little that Gonzalez and his wife – three years after living off the public treasury in poverty-stricken Brownsville still votes in Kyle and is not even registered to vote in the town of the residents who pay his check.
Now, have Gonzalez convince the commissioners of the Port of Brownsville (a United Brownsville "member") the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (also a United Brownsville "member"), and the Brownsville Public Utility Board (also a United Brownsville "member") appropriate another $$454,592.08 to formulate yet another "comprehensive plan" that will place the helm of economic development on a "coordinating body" which will steer the are to economic prosperity.
It just so happens that the consultants hired to formulate the plan and call for United Brownsville to steer Brownsville and the region on both sides of the river to Nirvana are none other than the same group – Robin McCaffrey of Needham-McCaffrey and Associates, Inc. – that helped Gonzalez drive Kyle to financial debt and ruin.
The grandiose plan?
United Brownsville invented something called high-sounding called the Bi-National Border Economic Development Trojan horse. Under this "plan," the usual suspects – Rusteberg, Marin, Mayor Tony Martinez, FINSA's Sergio Arguelles, and Garcia – are in the process of hijacking the direction of this region's economic development to benefit a select cabal of their fellow travelers. In fact, Treviño is a United Brownsville board member, too.
"Central to the BiNED concept is establishing advanced manufacturing locally to serve the electronics and automotive manufacturing industries that are booming in Mexico's interior."
Along the United Brownsville way, Carlos Marin and his Ambiotec group raked in the $1 million for their Imagine Brownsville pipe dream, Gonzalez's pals made the $$454,592.08 for their "comprehensive" plan, and other United Brownsville toadies are lining up at the trough to have their turn at feeding off the public through.
Take, for example, Oscar Garcia Jr. Junior is the son of one of the three members of the self-appointed "coordinating" board who, like Moses, plan in hand will lead us to the Promised Land, for a slight fee, of course.
Commissioner Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa was on the city commission who voted to pay United Brownsville their annual $25,000 "quota," and who is acknowledged in the preface to the document. And Al Villarreal is a willing accomplice to the United Brownsville scheme to hijack elected government and replace it with Rusteberg's shadow government. Hapless Cameron County Treasurer David Betancourt was a willing participant.
These three now sit on the GBIC, which has public sales-tax money to attract industry and promote economic development.
So Garcia Jr., who approved the spending of the $454,592 to pay for the plan, bolted the PUB and latched on to an engineering firm to bid (the only one to respond to the GBIC's Request For Proposals) on the $750,000 contract. To his credit, his new employer, San Antonio-based Jacobs' Engineering, was content to accept the first phase ($185,000), with two more biscuits with gravy to come to complete the $750,000 banquet.
His proposal, without any backup documentation, was approved by Tetreau, Betancourt and Villarreal, to come up with a plan to identify 10 of 32 projects for implementation and come up with ways to fund them. Since the projects were already identified for them, all the Garica Jr. outfit has to do is recommend funding within four years.
Apparently, the three members didn't read the $452,592 plan because if they had, they would know that it called for :
1. Public project funding: Obligatory/revenue bonds, grants, appropriations, impact fees, special assessments, and joint-power agreements
2. Public/Private funding: TIRZ, Venue taxes, Historic, new market tacx credits, EB-5 funds, User fees
3. Private Funding: Fees, tariffs, equity fund, asst appreciation, loans
If you will notice, most of these sources are the public's pocket again.
So what do they need Garcia Jr. and Jacob's Engineering for?
Nothing, really, it was just Julieta's son (Garcia Jr.) turn at the trough.
6 comments:
Surely Tony Martinez didn't think of this system of corruption and self serving.....but he allowed Juliet Garcia to give him the inspiration for the Kardenas Klan type system to extort money from the public. Eddie Trevinio isn't smart enough for this to be his idea either. And we know Ahumada was not a bright light. So, all this is the a part of Juliet's continuing theme of "cross border" ___________. She and her cronies have this illusion of cross border cooperation that will benefit Brownsville. It ain't going to happen. As poor as this city is, we still give Matamoros "stuff" and get little back except Mexican nationals shopping on this side. Now with the turmoil in Mexico, Brownsville is now the refugee camp for Mexican nationals who seek to get away from the mess over there. So, now what are Juliet and her cronies going to do....nothing. But they will continue to spend tax dollars to benefit themselves; like greedy pigs at a trough full of slop.
What a racket ! Basically, the majority of the people here don't vote. Washed monies are used by these white collar criminals for "legitimate" operations. If you look real closely ,Feds, most monies are arm shoots from Cartel Kenmore laundry.
Until our idiots stop voting in return for a fucking chicken leg quarter plate this will not end. How is this not criminal. But our top law enforcement official just busted 3 game rooms. Fucking really? These fuckers all protect each other hopefully the feds will realize that our leaders are actually commitin crimes. Turning a blind eye is also a crime. Mellisa Zamora comes out saying they are going after properties. She says they have already siezed some. LIES, they tried and failed. the DA office is intimdating property owners about forfieture for renting to maquinitas. Do your freaking job and leave us property owners alone. i don't go into my rentals to check what they are doing. How come you don't sieze Wal Mart when a dope dealer gets caught selling dope in their parking lot? Because it's illegal. Olease ACLU help us with the many corrupt elected officials. I'd love to see a class action suit for selective prosecution browught forth
Aunt J , the most powerful woman in the world, will be honored in D.C. With establishing Cooking 101 in the Congo. Sen. Teofilo de la la Cruz will be making the Award. He said that her classes will save energy in U.S. Da Mayor, disguised as a canibal with bone in hand will be in attendance. Da Mayor introduced his latest G-string fashion to the Katanga people. Brownsville will be honored.
Stupid.....your family must be so embarrassed by all your trash postings.
1:48The latest raids on 8 liners in Harlingen had all negative comments about the DA's office except one. The people have spoken already about whether he will be re-elected. Not happening. People don't want to be judged about morality by someone who has skeletons in his closet. Who is he to judge us?
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