WIGHTMAN: A MONSTER OF SAENZ, ZAMORA'S CREATION SCHOOLS JUDGE LAURA BETANCOURT HOW TO PROCEED

By Juan Montoya
Before the rupture between Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz, his PIO Melissa Zamora, and disbarred lawyer and hypochondriac blogger Robert Wightman, things were going along grandly.
Wightman would give them good press on their press releases extolling the virtues of the D.A., and he would get inside info, special treatment for cases involving his relatives, and instant access to the D.A.'s civil and criminal files to use against their perceived political enemies.
In one case involving a female relative (Ivana Montes), Wightman actually directed Zamora to tell Saenz which files he needed to take for a meeting scheduled between them by County Judge Carlos Cascos.
Wightman got what he wanted and actually had an Asst. D.A. allow the convicted defendant (on a criminal mischief charge)to withdraw her guilty plea, agree to dismiss the case altogether and even got her a $150 refund on her probation and court costs payments. He also instructed the D.A.'s Office on a companion domestic abuse case involving this same relative against her ex-husband (Victor Vallade). He is the same guy that later got convicted in San Antonio for assaulting an elderly lady and stealing her purse and is now doing hard time in the pen.
No one else had the inside to that office like he did, even as the PIO protested that she gave equal treatment to all media.
We know different now. In fact, the relationship between Wightman and the DA's Office was so cozy that he was giving Zamora pointers on how Saenz could milk brownie points from the Lincoln Park issue, Operation Bishop (eight-liner raids) and handle the mainstream and social media.
But after the rupture between the DA's Office and Wightman things changed. Someone decided not to give him all the perks he had enjoyed before and – like a woman scorned – threw a hairy.
Suddenly, Saenz is "a vindictive dick," to Wightman, and Zamora is a base political huckster. And the worst thing of it all is that in their previous idyllic relationship, Wightman was privy to confidences that he is now holding over their heads like a sword.
Whether you happen to agree with Saenz or dislike Zamora is of no consequence. One lives by the sword and dies by it. You play the game, you take your chances.
But just as he wormed his way into the DA's Office confidences, Wightman in now worming (or trying to, anyway) to worm his way into the workings of the local judiciary.

Just this week he was able to convince JP 2-1 Linda Salazar to allow him to legally represent his nephew Emilio Montes and force a woman to turn over her insurance information so that he could press a $3,000 damage claim. We won't argue the merits (on non merits) of that case, just the fact that a disbarred lawyer was given the chance to practice law after the Texas Sate Bar and numerous state and federal courts said he couldn't. Texas law leaves it to the discretion of the JP and Salazar made the decision on her own.
But we have learned of another case into which Wightman has injected himself without any apparent standing other than his pontifical edict of that as a member of the "free press" the judge in that case should allow him unfettered access to the court and should not "neglect" its duty.
(The document was entered into the case file and made part of the public record at Wightman's request. Click on graphic ar right to enlarge and read how he directs the judge to provide a copy to all the lawyers in the case before entering it in the record.)
The case involves a DWI second offense charge against Victor Garcia, Saenz's nephew by marriage. In the first DWI, Garcia was charged with intoxication assault vehicle, a third degree felony, and accident involving injury or death. His sister Kacie wa also charged with DWI.
Saenz, since the Garcias are his relatives, appointed attorney Ed Cyganiewicz as a special prosecutor.
Ed Stapleton defended Victor while Noe Garza and Angela Nix defended Kacie.
The cases never went to a jury because their defense attorneys worked out a deal with the D.A.'s Office. Originally, the case was to be heard by 103rd District Judge Janet Leal, but she recused herself and visiting Judge Romeo Flores heard the case. Leal was Saenz's partner in their law firm along with Chester Gonzalez.
In Kacie's case, the DWI and the  Intoxication Assault With a Motor Vehicle were dismissed as part of the plea bargain agreement. She pleaded guilty to the felony charge of Accident Involving Injury or Death.
The D.A.'s office (Special Prosecutor Cyganewicz) agreed to the dismissal of the two charges and to have Flores sentence her to five years probation and to apply deferred adjudication after that so that the offense would not show up on her record.
In her brother Victor's case, the crackerjack defense also garnered him a dismissal (also with Special Prosecutor Cyganewicz's agreement) on the Accident Involving Injury or Death felony charge and his nolo contendre guilty plea on the  Failure to Report Felony Where Severe Bodily Injury or Death Results resulted in Flores going along the agreement between the DA's Office and Stapleton and assessed him 12 months probation and 24 hours of community service. The court also went along with placing Victor with deferred adjudication so that after he served his probation, the record of the offense would be erased.
Then, before the probation period was over, Victor Garcia again was arrested and charged with a  second DWI. For whatever reason, the filing of the second DWI languished between the Texas Department of Public Safety and the D.A.'s Office. By the time the D.A. presented the case to the court, the probation period was done and the process on the second charge is moving along at a sluggard's pace. How can the state move to revoke probation when the probation period is already over? He tells the court The DPS informed him (by telephone text) that they had turned over the DWI information to the DA's Office late July and that the charge had not been filed as of September.
Enter Wightman. The Garcia case file contains a curious document which is classic Wightman.
He drafted a letter of notice to County Court-at-Law #2 Judge Laura Betancourt (with copies to the U.S.  Dept. of Justice and the FBI in San Antonio) " invoking my rights pursuant to Texas Code of Criminal Procedure where – among other things – instructs the judge to:

1. Prevent Cyganewicz from proceeding with his motion to adjudicate because "Saenz is withholding the DWI charge from which he is conflicted out of."
2. And to prevent Cyganewicz from entering into nay plea bargain to eliminate the DWI.

According to legal scholar Wightman "there is a clear case" of neglect which "requires this court to act." He instructs Betancourt that "it is time this court bring Ed Cyganewicz and Luis Sanez before the court to explain what can only be explained as willful neglect at this time."
He doesn't stop there. He lectures the judge that:

1. "(The Code of Criminal Procedure)...clearly puts a duty upon Ed Cyganewicz to inform the court (Saenz) has failed in his duty to disqualify himself from the DWI involving his nephew by marriage and insure the information in the DWI case is filed.

2. "This neglect of duty with at this point is clearly verifiable required the court (Betancourt) to remove Ed Cyganewicz as an attorney pro tem.
3. "It also requires that the court have another attorney pro tem to bring the charges against DA Luis Saenz for his neglect of duty..."
4. "...In addition to charges against Ed Cyganewicz for neglect of duties."
And, oh, by the way, Wightman writes that he has already set County County-at-Law #1 Judge Art McDonald (with the assistance of Constable Abel Gomez) straight on the subtleties of Supreme Court decisions which – as a member of the free press – Wightman is to be allowed in the courtrooms to provide "an essential check on the courts to allow the people to view the proceedings."
Wightman referred back to the initial felony charges that were dropped against Victor Garcia and said that the lack of action on the second DWI were suspect because "if it smells like fish it is probably not pork(?).
But I'm sure it's not your fault, Laura, he cajoles.
"Fairness presumes you have no knowledge of these matters going behind the scenes. I also presume that you were unaware of your bailiff illegally clearing the courtroom. But now you know."

And the subtle threat, Wightman's classic signature.
"There are many matters of this nature before the FBI including acts by Ed Cyganewicz. That's why I'm copying this to the FBI and DOJ....The corruption is going to end with or without the help of judges doing their jobs. There (sic) is the reason the DOJ and FBI dispatched a special task force to deal with this corruption – experience teaches them the judges of Cameron and Hidalgo counties cannot be relied upon to uphold the law."
"I speak only as a citizen who has a right of free speech to speak out against the corruption in our courts and in no other capacity (not as a representative of a free press?). Again you are required to copy this to all counsel concerned to avoid any claim of ex parte."
Saenz, JP Salazar, and Zamora have blinked when confronted with the monster of their own creation. Will Judge Betancourt follow the directives from this disbarred lawyer?