FALLOUT FROM FIRE DEPT.: SHAKEUP STILL NOT OVER

"A cord of three strands is not quickly broken..." Bible verse attached to memos issued by former Asst. Chief Ernie Estrada, since demoted to basic firefighter

By Juan Montoya

The demotion of former Brownsville Fire Dept. Chief Carlos Elizondo has left the department in disarray and some of the pieces will take a long time to be picked up. In some cases, it will be through mediation between the city and Brownsville Firefighters Local #970, through the courts, or through the intervention of the Cameron County District Attorney's Office.

Elizondo was demoted Thursday by City Manager Charlie Cabler, but not personally. Cabler instead had Asst. City Manager Robert Lopez and Asst. City Manager Pete Gonzalez hand Elizondo his demotion, which automatically included the demotion of Asst. Fire Chief Ernie Estrada. A labor agreement with the firefighters association allowed Elizondo to select one of this two assistant fire chiefs without him (or her) having to meet the civil service requirements of having held an officer status or experience. 

As people used to tell former Cameron County Clerk Joe Rivera when he told the story of having huevos rancheros and hand-made flour tortillas with his mother in Robstown when he was contemplating running against Gilberto Hinojosa for county judge and after eating his breakfast decided against it: "A Charlie le faltaron huevos" to demote Elizondo personally.

Estrada, a close associate of Cabler's, was picked to fill that slot despite his obvious lack of experience as a firefighter and was given authority over firefighters and officers in the department with decades of experience over him.

Estrada's quoting of Ecclesiastes Chapter 4, verse 12, alluded to the fire department triumvirate formed by himself, Elizondo and Jarred Sheldon, the other assistant fire chief. Sheldon was appointed interim fire department chief by Cabler when he demoted Elizondo and Estrada.

"There are two strands down, and one to go," said a firefighter, referring to Sheldon who they see as mere window dressing for Cabler's inability to clean house.

"They just moved the pawns on the table, but the game remains the same," he said. "Cabler could have gone for a checkmate and moved the king or queen, but he elected to move around the pawns."

Instead, some observers say, the city needs to hire a chief without any political ties to local factions who can come in and set the department straight. However, it remains to be seen whether the city administration is up to the task or whether the city commission needs to get new leadership there to implement the necessary reforms.

Still to be decided in the following days are personnel decisions made by Elizondo and Estrada affecting the livelihoods of several firefighters they terminated or wrote up during their tenure which lasted a little over a year. Some of these include:

Capt. Margarito Gracia, who was called to Elizondo's office after he and Association president Jorge Lerma filed a complaint alleging Theft by a Public Official against Elizondo charging that he made unauthorized withdrawals from the Association's Political Action Committee account to the tune of more than $8,000. Following their filing of the complaint, Elizondo terminated Gracia in apparent retaliation after Lerma hung up on him because he was shouting into the telephone during his call.

Firefighter Heriberto Montalvo was fired after he refused to shake hands with Elizondo, who then told Estrada and Sheldon that they were witnesses to him giving Montalvo an order and the firefighter had not obeyed. Estrada and Sheldon testified during a mediation hearing on his dismissal that they been present and had witnessed the alleged insubordination.

Now Montalvo's supporters say that Montalvo had taped the conversation which showed the three men had colluded and perjured themselves during the hearing. Will this end up in court?

Some fire department sources are already reporting that Estrada has admitted as much and said Sheldon was not present during the incident. So much for the cord.

Also on the horizon is the continuing investigation into the theft charge against Elizondo by the Association. If the DA presents evidence to a grand jury that results in an indictment, the former fire chief is on his own without the city providing a defense.