BISD'S FNS SCANDAL NOT OVER? LOPEZ, ET AL, INVOLVED?

By Juan Montoya

As can be clearly seen in the above comment, a relative of the late Brownsville Independent School District Food and Nutrition Service Director Silverio Capistran seems sure that more heads will roll in the rotten babracoa case, including that of current president Cesar Lopez.

In the missive above, the anonymous writer says that Lopez was "involved" in the purchase of the spoiled babrabcoa that was processed in Mexico and sold through the Region One Buy Board cooperative purchasing pool by the BISD and La Joya ISD. 

If you'll remember, a justice of the peace ruled Capistran's death a suicide, although the writer above seems to know something about the "so-called" suicide.

Up to now all we know about the bad meat was that the United States Department of Agriculture agents were called to investigate the use of federal funds to buy the Mexico-processed meat. And even thought Superintendent Esperanza Zendejas denied it was Mexican meat, others have asserted that it was and that the district asserted it was not to divert attention from the purchase.

Now we know that right after the bad meat was discovered, Capistran had a large amount sent to La Joya ISD without explanation. A few weeks later, his body was discovered in his pickup truck that was backed up into his parking space at his apartment.

That triggered red flags among his family members who said he never backed up into the space and that the front looked as if it had been pushed there. Among the items recovered by law enforcement (and later given to the FBI) was a phone where relatives say he kept a ledger of his business dealings with the names of his fellow "investors," their return on the investment, and what he was owed for his "cut."

They Buy Board reference is of special interest because not only was the barbacoa company (Valco) a member, but the Brownsville ad and digital graphics company Grafik Spot was a Buy Board member as well. Both of these companies did extensive business with BISD through the FNS department headed by Capistran.

The link to Lopez is that he is the Buy Board representative for the South Texas area that includes Region One, even though he abstains from voting on any Buy Board purchase as a board member.                                                                                                                                   After Capistran's demise, some BISD administrators were astounded to find massive amounts of purchases from Grafik Spot stored in the district's warehouses, including crates full of cafeteria liners purchased in container-sized lots. There were also boxes of Chinese food containers for use in the cafeterias and backpacks that the district gave out to students included among the services provided, we have been told.                                                                              An information request to the district for all payments made to Grafik Spot for the past five years and the items purchased has resulted in the district objecting to the request and submitting their objections to the Texas Attorney General. In its letter to the AG's Office, the district's attorney Miguel Salinas listed exceptions to the Texas Public Information Act of the Texas Government Code Section 551.001 which defines Open and Closed meetings(?).

He also listed Section 552.154, which states that "the name of an applicant for the position of executive director, chief investment officer, or chief audit executive of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas is excepted from the requirements..."(?)

We – not being lawyers – are mystified with all that as a justification to exempt the information from the TPIA, but we'll know soon enough.

Whatever the outcome of the request, we will await the BISD's letter to the AG's Office explaining their justifications not to release the information to the public. It is, after all, the public's money and they deserve to know whether there was any hanky panky is its use. 

We'll keep you posted.