ON NOTICE: TEXAS AG, FBI TO POLITIQUERA(O)S; WE WILL MAKE SURE NO ONE STEALS THIS ELECTION

By Juan Montoya

It seems like only yesterday that agents from the Texas Office of the Attorney Generals Criminal Investigations Division, the FBI fanned out across Brownsville investigating election code violations during the July 31, 2012 Primary Run-Off Election.

The indictments and eventual convictions of vote harvesters through mail-in ballots were triggered by a complaint by Brownsville resident Laura Miniel collaborating with JP 2-2 candidate Yolanda Begum and Citizens Against Voter Abuse's Mary Helen Flores. After conducting interviews and taping numerous elderly voters, Miniel produced a PowerPoint and sent the accompanying evidence to the Texas Secretary of State in May 2013.

Evidence in the hard drive sent by Miniel involved allegations of Illegal Voting, Unlawful Assistance, Carrier Envelope Violations and Tampering with a Government Document. The SOS, in turn, turned over the materials to the A.G.


As a result, some well know politiqueras – paid political workers who harvested mail-in ballots from mostly elderly and handicapped voters – were indicted and were convicted of elections code violations.

According to the Incident Supplement documents, a few of these women told the agents that they worked hand in hand with Norma Hernandez, wife of former Brownsville city commissioner, and later Cameron County Pct. 2 commissioner, who would tell them they would not get in trouble by signing some of the forms for the voters and carrying them to the mail without signing the carrier envelopes.

In some cases, voters were shown a previously filled out sample ballot and told to mark their ballots the same way and sign. Many of the witnesses against the politiqueras were residents at the Brownsville Housing Authority's High Rise on St. Chalres Street. (That's Hernandez politicking with the retired residents and taking photos in the photo at right.)


Some were given $20 "for gas," others a dozen tamales or promised cooking oil which never materialized.

The beneficiaries of the harvested ballots were local politicians who used Hernandez as a manager to collect the carrier envelops with the filled ballots. In some cases, they said she had them report a false address and a false "witness" was listed on the envelope.

As a result of the joint TAG and FBI investigation several of the better known politiqueras were charged and brought to trial.

Among them were Tomasita Chavez, Facunda "Connie" Garcia, Bernice Liliana Garcia, Margarita Rangel Ozuna, Sara Virginia Perales, and Vicenta Guajardo Verino. Others – like Hernandez and Amadeo and Ernie Rodriguez, Rafael Elizondo and Joey Garcia – were investigated, but due to the statute of limitations, were not included in those indictments.

A few were offered Pre-Trial Diversion which they eventually ended up completing in 2016, about three years later.

Most candidates have been approached by the likes of double-dealing Natividad "Nati" Arzola, Ramiro Amaya, and the school bus union leader Petra Ramirez, Minnie Leal, Minnie de los Santos, Marisa Leal and political operative Linda Castro and her husband.

In one picture of her supporters under a tent is Margarita Rangel Ozuna who pleaded no contest to illegally assisting the elderly in voting in 2010. She admitted she prepared ballots without their direction, and then deposited the carrier envelopes without providing the proper information on the envelope. She received a sentence of probation. She is sitting directly behind Arzola.

Salazar and local politiquero Amadeo Rodriguez Jr. have been making the rounds of local adult day care centers trying to ingratiate her into their good graces currying their vote and giving them small presents. Rodriguez and other members of his family were an important cog in the Ernie-Norma Hernandez-Erin Garcia vote harvesting machine. One of his sisters, Gracie, is also in the Salazar relection announcement photo below.

The people in the photo labled "GK" are her grandchildren used as fillers to give the impression of a large following.


As the 2020 Primary elections approach this March, many of these same faces have been seen around some of the campaigns, notably Salazar's as she prepares to take on two challengers, Cyndi Hinojosa and Fred Arias.

There is some intermingling of these campaigns with supporters of other candidates like that of 404th Judicial District candidate Ricardo Adobbati who is in the race for that position with Ass. District Judge Louis Sorola.

JP 2-1 Salazar, in fact, had her workers place Adobbati stickers on their cars and sports one on her personal car as well.

Sources say that Salazar is desperate for votes and has been seen several times at the home of Vicenta Virino. Virino was named in a  complaint and information (14-CCR-2978) on July 10, 2014 for instructing elderly voter Margarita Dominguez for who to vote and then gave her a sample ballot with the names already marked on the candidates for who she should vote. (That's Virinio's mug shot at right.)

If the usual suspects are congregating around Salazar, have they forgotten the prosecution by the AG and the FBI already? They can rest assured that the Texas AG's Office and the local FBI office will be watching very closely.

Miniel, who worked to eradicate voter fraud then, said she was surprised some of the same faces are congregating around Salazar.

"Have they forgotten already?," she asked incredulously. "Not everyone has."