By General Patton
Special to El Rrun-Rrun
Brownsville citizens are all breathing a little easier now thanks to Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz.
Brownsville citizens are all breathing a little easier now thanks to Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz.
On Friday, October 22, Saenz arrested Minerva Pena, BISD School Board Member and notorious criminal mastermind. Pena has been the subject of an intense investigation by the DA's office since the death of her daughter-in-law who was asked to resign a few days after being hired at Veterans Memorial ECHS due to nepotism. (That's her and her attorney Rick Zayas self-reporting her to be booked.)
While still reeling from the girl's death, Pena was charged with a Class C misdemeanor for violating Section 573.041 of the Texas Government Code which states that a public official may not "appoint, confirm the appointment of or vote for the appointment of an individual to a position that is directly or indirectly compensated from public funds or fees" if that person is related to the public official.
It certainly sounds serious, but guess what?
While still reeling from the girl's death, Pena was charged with a Class C misdemeanor for violating Section 573.041 of the Texas Government Code which states that a public official may not "appoint, confirm the appointment of or vote for the appointment of an individual to a position that is directly or indirectly compensated from public funds or fees" if that person is related to the public official.
It certainly sounds serious, but guess what?
Several months ago the BISD Board at the request of Superintendent Dr. Rene Gutierrez, gave the Superintendent all authority to hire teachers. The move was made to speed up the teacher hiring process. BISD Board members don't give thumbs up or down on the hiring of teachers. Pena never voted, nor did any school board member, on whether or not her daughter-in-law should be hired.
Perhaps D.A. Saenz should have charged the Superintendent rather than Pena. After all, he's the one who (allegedly) hired her and violated the nepotism law.
The real question is why Saenz would spend his valuable resources having investigators interrogate BISD staff for weeks for a Class C misdemeanor that carries a fine between $100 and $1,000? Wouldn't those resources be better used investigating Brownsville's mayor and his cronies, who have been awarding themselves grant monies to improve downtown projects they purchased through dummy corporations?
There is also the question of the size of the surety bond Peña was forced to post after turning herself in. If convicted of this heinous crime, the maximum fine would be $1000. It cost Peña five times the max fine, $,5000, to receive bail. Reasonable people will agree the bond is out of line for the former law enforcement officer.
Local pundits claim that Luis Saenz, who successfully got Erasmo Castro to resign after a short stint as a BISD Trustee, was highly disappointed when the FBI and federal prosecutors scored a well-publicized win in the Dr. Sylvia Atkinson bribery case.
The real question is why Saenz would spend his valuable resources having investigators interrogate BISD staff for weeks for a Class C misdemeanor that carries a fine between $100 and $1,000? Wouldn't those resources be better used investigating Brownsville's mayor and his cronies, who have been awarding themselves grant monies to improve downtown projects they purchased through dummy corporations?
There is also the question of the size of the surety bond Peña was forced to post after turning herself in. If convicted of this heinous crime, the maximum fine would be $1000. It cost Peña five times the max fine, $,5000, to receive bail. Reasonable people will agree the bond is out of line for the former law enforcement officer.
Local pundits claim that Luis Saenz, who successfully got Erasmo Castro to resign after a short stint as a BISD Trustee, was highly disappointed when the FBI and federal prosecutors scored a well-publicized win in the Dr. Sylvia Atkinson bribery case.
Saenz has been salivating ever since to take another crack at BISD. Why worry about the mayor and his buddies when he can take down a criminal like Minerva Peña? It's not a crime to be annoying or a serial blabbermouth. If it was, Pena could face felony charges. In this instance, the DA's office continues to plague BISD in search of anything to stain the district.
We can only imagine the rush Saenz felt when he was able to say, "Book her, Danno."
We can only imagine the rush Saenz felt when he was able to say, "Book her, Danno."
9 comments:
CHARGES WILL BE DISMISSED. NO COOPERATION WITH WITNESSES OR VICTIM. CASE CLOSED.
I think there is more to this story.....and i'm glad you are on it...
I think BISD used this young lady for revenge-- And for that...they should be punished.
City is happy as it is a distraction to their big problems.
el duardo, el burro cansado sólo puede rebuznar. no tiene habilidades, ni clase, ni propósito. solo puede hacer los sonidos de un burro y esperar que alguien tenga oídos para su rebuzno
And here I was thinking that the unspoken reason for becoming a BISD trustee was to take money under the table for peddling your vote and getting your family into BISD jobs. Que pendejo soy.
I don't care for this woman, but was she Luis Saenz's "Sacrificial Lamb, to distract the biggest Rats in BISD, City, county, port, college and who is going to the front of the line for free grant money? What other attorney's besides Mendez, Martinez and Sanchez have gotten this money ? Maybe it should be disclosed (Grant money), when they sell and how the property was renovated. Maybe a percentage should be discounted to the next owner. Let's pass it forward, greedy jerks? Ya'll so excited for Space Ex and while Elon Musk has all these officials salivating for more money to spice up downtown and creating more LLC's, he is going to be busy spicing up his part of Boca Coca. While he is building a "Hell of a Show" out there, we will remain a "Sh@t Show" with our drainage problems, pothole streets, bike trails, and Cyclobia (wow), low wages and damage to our beaches. This weekend the Port celebrated 85 years of existence and how successful it has been. Congratulations!! However, why do we continue to be taxed? Oh! United Way, from now on I will directly donate to who I want, Limas is not a good chairman to represent this organization. He may be one of the worst, but you've had a few bad apples. How do you pick these people or are there mordidas amongst your organization ,as well? Our poor citizens are surrounded by abusive ,self serving elected official and their friends. You put on a facade when you want our votes, but you entered the ring with your own personal agendas. You were elected to represent the betterment of our community and schools not your own personal " grab 'em list's".
She deserves a vacation to where her friend is at. No shame
9.28 pm i agree too much corruption everywhere at the City, County, PUB and BISD, everyone one wants a piece of the pie, cookies, money, or whatever they can get their hands on.
CORRECTION for comment @ October 25, 2021 at 9:28 PM
*to distract FROM the biggest Rats
sacrafice a small rata (no pun)to hide the bigger ratas...
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