By Juan Montoya
After Cameron County Tax-Assessor-Collector Tony Yzaguirre was indicted, visiting judge Manuel Bañales at the first pre-trial hearing, prohibited him from performing any official duties and ordered him to stay away from the office or to communicate with its staff.
However, since he was an elected official and had not been convicted, he still continued to draw on his $87,000 salary.
Then, on Dec. 21, former county judge and current executive director of the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority (CCRMA) Pete Sepulveda was indicted for abuse of official capacity, misapplication of fiduciary property and theft by a public servant.
Doubtless, his case will be assigned to a visiting judge as well since Sepulveda was the county's top county official and voted on the
salaries of all the judges here and had a
personal relationship with them.
Will Bañales (or whichever visiting judge is assigned to his case) apply the same restrictions on Sepulveda since he is the director of a publicly-funded entity as well? And will the directors of the CCRMA also continue to pay his $240,000 salary while Sepulveda fights the charges in court?
The CCRMA is a strange beast. Its director is appointed by the governor and tis board is appointed by the Cameron County commissioners.
Will it be up to the board of the CCRMA whether to suspend him from his activities while he is fighting the charges or can he be removed or terminated because he is not an elected official there, but rather an employee of the authority?
This is something that the board will have to decide at their next meeting, regardless of what stage Sepulveda's case is in.
Now, it just so happened that the road that Sepulveda is accused of improving illegally since it was not a dedicated county road, was in the precinct of former commissioner Dan Sanchez. Sanchez was in the middle of a hotly-contested runoff four county judge and now says he "knew nothing" a la Sgt. Schultz about the work going on in his precinct.
The same goes for the county administrator David Garcia who is in charge of Transportation, Public Works and Road and Bridge. At a hefty $185,000 per year, Garcia better have known what was happening or he is admitting to his own ineptness and doesn't deserve the position. We'll see what happens as the case moves along.
Meanwhile, Sanchez has found God. In a recent post, he asks for "your Prayers" since he is facing some kind of trying spiritual test. Could it be that he has thrown Sepulveda under the bus and now seeks penance for bearing false witness against his former county judge that allowed him to remain as commissioner months after he announced for county judge, allowing him to keep his salary and campaign at the same time?
Or could it be his conscience gnawing on his ample heart that prompts him to seek spiritual solace in prayer.
Monday, January 9, 2017
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6 comments:
One who prays wholeheartedly is seeking to be close to God. One who is close to God usually includes God in their decisions and usually that will drive you in the direction of good acts, legal acts. its not wrong to drop to your knees and pray after you've screwed up, but had you been praying all this time as hard as you are know, maybe you'd be in a different position.
Speaking from experience, so Im not judging anyone.
And the "la jaiba" element of Cameron County politics continues...each trying to through the other under the bus; or into the pot of boiling water.
Throw out Yzaguirres case. No evidence there.
"One who is close to God usually includes God in their decisions"
God is dead.
Obviously you believe in God which is good - and we have different opinion whether he's dead or not and Im fine with that. Disagreements are healthy.
FREE JOE LOPEZ!!!
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