THE MARK SOSSI MORAL: PRIDE GOETH BEFORE THE FALL

"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18

By Juan Montoya

Six days after a majority of the City of Brownsville commission voted to terminate attorneys' Mark Sossi's employment as general counsel at $120,000 a year, a majority on the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation decided they could do without his services which cost them $60,000 a year.

So within the space of one week in August, Sossi, who had been drawing that $180,000  for the past eight years, was let go by both entities.

At the city, the score was 5-2 to terminate with Mayor Tony Martinez, and commissioners Cesar de Leon, Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa, Dr. Rose Gowen and Ben Neece voting to terminate and commissioners Ricardo Longoria and Joel Munguia voting "nay."

AT the GBIC, the motion was made by De Leon, seconded by John Cowen, and Tetreau-Kalifa cast the third vote. Only  David Betancourt voted "nay." Betancourt is also the Cameron County Treasurer and had voted to bring him on board when he was first fired. There is a vacancy on the GBIC, therefore, there were only four members voting.

That rejection of Sossi by the GBIC, according to insiders, was only logical, since he had just been  terminated by the city commission and Sossi would have had to deal with that entity to formulate contracts, Memoranda of Understanding, and to enter into negotiations, an untenable situation to both entities.

The GBIC board directed city Finance Director Lupe Granado to calculate the pro rate from his last paycheck until that Monday, between five to 10 days, and to withhold the payment until it had been calculated and approved by the chair.

The sudden rejection of Sossi's services by both the city and the GBIC was quite a letdown to high-flying Sossi, who came across haughty and arrogant, a trait which was demonstrated during a recent meeting of the city's audit committee when he tried to prevent three commissioners to discuss an audit of the fire department. In the ensuing debate that followed, Sossi was overheard saying that they were just "f-----g city commissioners and I am the city attorney."

In then days before the vote on his employment with the GBIC, Sossi was said to have texted the members pleading with them not to end his contract and promising that he would "act as a professional" if they relented. He cited the pending work to be done on the request by Italian machining company SATA and other manufacturers seeking financial incentives to relocate to Brownsville. His pleading and cajoling continued up to the time of the vote, to no avail.

In the days following his outburst of the audit committee – at the monthly meeting of the city commission – two of the three commissioners present then voted to terminate him for his attempts to obstruct their audit and implement the recommendations to fix the problems found in that department.

Sossi had also convinced the city commission last January to change the terms of his employment with the city by making him a full-time employee instead of a contract attorney. That would allow him to include a son in the city's health and medical insurance. The child was the object of a custody battle between him and an erotic dancer a a local gentlemen's club who had moved in with Sossi before she bore his child.

For months, his neighbors had complained of all-nigh parties on their block with cars parked all along the curbs. Many of the party-goers were erotic dancers of a local strip club.

A local court rejected Sossi's motion to give him custody of the child and gave the mother custody, ordering Sossi to pay her $1,700 a month for child support.

During that January 17 meeting, Sossi pleaded with the commissioners to grant him full-time city employee status and promised them he would work exclusively for the city if the did. The commissioners gave in and made him a full-time employee as the city's general counsel at the same salary without advertising the slot, taking applications, or interviewing other candidates.

Yet, less than month later, on Feb. 14, Sossi – unbeknownst to the commissioners – inked a monthly retainer with the City of Mission to act as their counsel on labor and mediation issues. That proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back and five commissioners decided they had enough of the lawyer and his machinations.

Some said that the situation had deteriorated to the point where they were discussing his personal problems which were proving to be a diversion from discussing the legal issues facing the city.


Gone were the days when the city attorney would drive down the middle of town without a valid license, expired vehicle registration, and without vehicle inspection without any consequences.

Now, with the city gravy train gone, he will have to fend off the court's child support orders and his debtors plying his wares as an attorney in the dog-eat-dog world of the local legal profession.