The public corruption case is very complex and involves the legal, political and business communities of El Paso. Newspaper Tree presents stories, primary documents and some reading about public corruption cases elsewhere to provide a little context.

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Nine people have pleaded guilty to public corruption charges. Here are their guilty pleas, filed in the form of a document called an "information":

-- Travis Ketner

-- Betti Flores

-- Bernardo Lucero

-- Carlos Cordova

-- Bobby Ruiz

-- Chris Pak

-- Raymond Telles

-- Tony Dill

-- Fernando Parra

Here are the NPT stories regarding their pleas:

-- Travis Ketner, June 8, 2007

-- Betti Flores, July 7, 2007

-- Bernardo Lucero, Aug. 17, 2007

-- Carlos Cordova, Nov. 28, 2007

-- Bobby Ruiz and Chris Pak, Dec. 21, 2007

-- Raymond Telles, March 18, 2008

-- Tony Dill, June 18, 2008

-- Fernando Parra, July 15, 2008

-- Fernando Parra hearing, July 15, 2008 (see related stories below)

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Some of the other court action revolves around efforts to disqualify one lawyer, efforts by another lawyer to disqualify the judge hearing the cases, a request to open files and proceedings by activist Carl Starr, and the indictment of a target on unrelated charges of child pornography:

-- Fernando Parra was arrested in February and charged with counts related to child pornography. An FBI agent testified at the bond hearing that the agency came across the pornography when searching Parra's computer. During the hearing, Parra's relationships with various politicians and other targets of the investigation came to light. [Feb. 6, 2008, Parra Indicted, Bond Granted, Then Appealed] [Parra indictment]

-- Carl Starr filed a lawsuit against the government in March to challenge the secrecy measures. “The level of public interest and concern with the substantial issues regarding corruption and administration of justice presented by the case cannot be overstated,” Starr wrote in his motion to intervene in the string of cases. [march 26, 2008 npt background] [motion to intervene] [may 12, 2008, closed courts, public corruption] [may 28, 2008, corruption court stays closed, but judge offers new information ]

-- Newspaper Tree filed in federal court to seek a hearing on opening files and proceedings. [aug. 6, 2008, npt files motion to open corruption court]

-- Lawyer Martie Jobe has filed a lawsuit against Travis Ketner, claiming he defamed her in his guilty plea. Then she tried to force recusal of District Judge Frank Montalvo, who is hearing the public corruption cases. [Aug. 7, 2007, Jobe argument] [Aug. 10, 2007, decision on the issue]

-- Montalvo disqualified lawyer Mary Stillinger from representing three clients who were called targets. They were Ysleta school district Trustee Mickey Duntley, El Paso school district trustee Charles Roark, and NCED Chief Operating Officer Ernie Lopez. In early July, Stillinger argued the case before the Fifth Circuit Court. [July 27, 2007, disqualification] [Aug. 8, 2007, clarification of issues] [July fifth court transcript]

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NPT stories on various events and issues:

-- May 16, 2007, FBI raids county

-- June 14, 2007, FBI focuses on district clerk

-- May 18, 2007, explanation of search warrant process

-- June 29, 2007, business as (mostly) usual in the County Courthouse

-- Aug. 10, 2007, interview with District Clerk Gilbert Sanchez

-- Aug. 21, 2007, interview with FBI SAC Manuel Mora

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Public corruption is prevalent in the United States, most often appearing in the news in relation to local politics. Some stories to provide context:

-- Christian Science Monitor writing in 2005 about Chicago

-- Wikipedia page on Orlando politician Ernest Page

-- Times-Picayune 2007 story about New Orleans

-- American Heritage magazine history of New York City corruption

-- Memphis Commercial Appeal writing in 2007 about a "culture of corruption" in Memphis