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DID OTHER JUDGES PUT THE SQUEEZE ON ROSENTHAL?
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<div>By <b>Juan Montoya</b></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span><span>The revelations contained in a motion by Austin lawyer Marc Rosenthal to remove</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%; "> 197th</span><span style="font-size: 100%; "> </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">state</span><span style="font-size: 100%; "> </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">District Judge Migdalia Lopez from presiding over a wrongful death lawsuit that he filed against Union Pacific Railroad and a train engineer have sent tremors through the South Texas local judiciary.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Rosenthal's motion for Lopez's recusal has courthouse regulars wondering which other judges may have similar skeletons in their closets. Rosenthal at one time or another contributed to scores of local judges and to other elected officials in Cameron, Willacy and Hidalgo counties, to name a few. He is listed as not only contributing to Lopez, but also in more recent races, including a contribution to Democratic candidate for Cameron County Judge Jo</span></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsSOlnndPaX1sZijMAeVnfuOOCRZrjhHbeExleZCMcaXFlZsGEVbLbClKhy5a5H0-HZ2PB8cevEKF-OsX5sQ1piQPMjVzq84qWTOL9qAo0fhiCKo0VS3a_x3qceebEN-kPc457mr7FP4/s400/bid.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716129552776290882" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline; float: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 224px; " /><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">hn Wood, among others.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">But the Lopez case, if true, would blow the lid of the questionable behavior of local judges that may have at one time solicited contributions from the high-power legal firm.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">"I once saw him arrive in his Lamborghini at a function held at the ranch of Carlos Cascos," said a former elected official. "I doubt that anyone who's anyone in elective politics here hasn't at one time or another heard of Marc. He's been very generous."</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">The case concerning Migdalia Lopez case revolves around the <span style="font-size: 100%; ">civil lawsuit Rosenthal filed in 2009 on behalf of Viviana Sosa and others. Lopez was the sitting judge on the case and Rosenthal charges that he can produce witnesses who will corroborate that the judge asked him for a $2,500 campaign contribution on Feb. 16, 2010, while sitting on the case. </span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">He told the court Feb. 21 that she made him feel that he would not be treated fairly in her court if he did not give her the money. </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">On Feb. 22 she refused to step aside, and his motion was referred to Senior Appellate Judge Linda Yañez.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">According to Rosenthal, she told him that she had received a $1,000 contribution from Mitchell </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Chaney, of Colvin, Chaney, Saenz & Rodriguez LLP., the firm defending the railroad and the train engineer.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">She is also said to have told him that she might find a home at the firm in her future endeavors.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">That has opened a can of worms given the close relationship between that established firm and the local office of the U.S. Attorney's office. And now that allegations have surfaced that some judges may have been soliciting contributions from attorneys with cases before them, will this now lead to federal prosecutors looking beyond hapless Abel Limas and into others like Lopez and the rest of the judiciary?</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Are we in for a doubling of the alphabet once they run out of letters? Does Migdalia have a letter assigned to her, too? And if not, why not? In Limas' case, there were tapes. In this case, apparently, Rosenthal is saying there was a witness present. What's the difference? </span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">"This has to be a nightmare for a lot of judges and local attorneys, not to mention the federal prosecutors," said the courthouse source. "It's like Pandora's box, once it's open, there's no closing it. Sounds like there was a bidding war going on." </span></div><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-138254124194385418?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/03/did-other-judges-put-squeeze-on.html
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IF NO ONE RUNS, IT'LL BE BUSINESS AS USUAL AT PORT
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By Juan Montoya<br /><br />Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it appears that the Brownsville Navigation District will <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaF_Je5XnbCFrfyLbCdIbMMp1qDJWSS10qQtbtSzRZzgYTphGeBr5EUFgZhoxXWoYRhqG9WSsJ67AuENCxagLdmRUFobhLLZc75jTRo9CW8tyKjZ4oP7Bvsh44-WCmRzwLH0khp36xAe0/s400/ralph.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716117297483858514" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 375px; height: 305px; font-family: times new roman;" border="0" />continue to have John Reed and Ralph Cowen on the board of directors.As of Friday, no one had filed to run out at the Golden Ditch. And unless someone â€" anyone â€" files by 5 p.m. Monday, the two will remain on the board and continue to live high off the hog off the taxpayers of the Port of Brownsville.<br />This blog has outlined the top-heavy salaries of administrators and supervisor out at the port. And we have also outlined the blatant conflict-of-interest relationships that exist between some board members and special interests out there.Reed, for example, is Mark Hoskins' brother-in-law. Hoskins is the CEO of Gulf Stream Marine, the largest stevedore company there. A recent made-to-order report critical of Finance Director Debbie Duke failed to mention <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ImgIXZuYPs8Y3sGKZjLmpS6Day5bhHpxMl-1qVA5zl3FlBN7tozguEqSxmOeppmmmamsAbRz1GyeAZibohTqdNEXPK38qOJwcjAjfPg9Bi9QjGfyL4jB_ACSkL_LxCu0OHtnn-d-RE8/s320/REED.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716118107549202082" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 157px; font-family: times new roman;" border="0" />that Duke is seen as a threat to the interests of Gulf Stream Marine which has been annoyed that the port wants to charge the company for cleaning up after their operations.<br />And let's not forget that a previous board , when it approved Gulf Stream Marine's union-breaking wage scale, effectively established the lowest wage-scale for local longshoremen on the entire Gulf Coast. That fine legacy is flourishing under Reed and Cowen.<br />And Ralph, who is the self-appointed (and card-carrying) Ambassador of Goodwill for the City of Brownsville, has taken full advantage of the port's generous travel and credit card expense policy to have a great old time flying off to all points on the globe ostensibly to garner industry for the port. On one trip to Shanghai alone, Cowen, Port CEO Eddie Campirano and board member Martin Arambula racked up a huge $1,800 tab for one dinner alone. That the fruits of the ports largess cannot be seen is of small consequence for Mr. Frequent Flier.<br />Not content with that sumptuous banquet, they returned the next day to the scene of the crime, this time with the Brownsville Economic Development guru Jason Hilts and racked up a more modest $1,600 tab. We will in the near future include documentation that shows that the credit card privileges enjoyed by supervisors, marketing directors and other lesser demons out there border on the criminal.<br />Not only do they live it up while out of town, but the widespread use of the expense accounts also include meals they treat themselves to while in Brownsville. And many of these include drinks at the Ice House, a beer join formerly owned by one of Cowen's relatives and which many Port big shots seem to patronize out of a sense of duty to Ralph. Some port employees have even reported that Ralph is not above soliciting business for one of his relative's firm which does business at the port.<br />While the business of the port continues to be cargoes destined for Mexican industry and petroleum products for domestic consumption, Ralph has tied up its resources pursuing the pipe dream that the port could become the next Aruba of the Gulf Coast attracting cruise liners for tourists that according to him are just dying to flock to the arid flood plain surrounding a five-mile stretch of beach out at South Padre Island.<br />And of course, there's that tourist mecca, Matamoros across the river for those hardy tourists who want to get a taste of a running firefight, kidnapping or strong-arm robbery.<br />But Ralph heedless of cruise tour industry experts continues to forge head obstinately chasing his dream.<br />Did he read this?: "The reality is they have as much chance to get a cruise ship to (home port) as they do in luring the Lakers from Los Angeles," says Stewart Chiron of CruiseGuy.com. "They're too far from any major airport, and there aren't enough people within a three hour drive to warrant it."<br />USA TODAY, on Brownsville officials efforts to get a cruise ship.Will someone â€" anyone â€" please file against these two? Only then will we have the glimmer of hope that the excesses of the port administration and the cozy relationship between board members and port leasees will be scrutinized to protect the district taxpayer and port workers.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-460768666658363134?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/03/if-no-one-runs-itll-be-business-as.html
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