Nearly one year ago, I wrote, “El Pasoans today are seeing the most stunning case of political corruption in the history of El Paso County. Ordinary citizens, public officials, business leaders – all are shocked at the extent of the corruption made pubic Friday in documents filed in Federal court by the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas.”
That was before U.S. District Judge Frank Montalvo delivered his recent order that revealed 80 “persons of interest” in the ongoing corruption scandal, 35 of whom are present or former elected officials. This makes El Paso’s public corruption cases among the largest in America outside of New York and Chicago.
With the recent guilty plea by Tony Dill, longtime political consultant to former mayors Larry Francis and Joe Wardy, County Judge Anthony Cobos, County Commissioner Miguel Terán and others, the question arises: “Where is the business community?”
Public corruption is paid for by business bribes. Corruption of governmental institutions by those seeking to enrich themselves must stop. When legitimate El Paso businesses must compete with bribes, not quality, all El Pasoans suffer.
Honest businessmen will not come to a city where the only way to do business is to bribe public officials. El Paso deserves better.
The time has come to ask, "Who are the prime movers behind the fiasco of corruption we see today? Who benefits from illegal bribery and other nefarious schemes? How did a value system based on corruption grow like a cancer?”
And now, most of all, we need to ask, “What is the business community going to do to change ‘business as usual.’”
Two years ago, Dee Margo, as Chair of the Greater Chamber of Commerce, honored Bob Jones – then president of the National Center for Employment of the Disabled -- as “Entrepreneur of the Year.” In other words, the man whose business model was to cheat the U.S. government was the model of how to do business in El Paso.
Not long before, Joe Wardy’s Administration proposed a $25-million subsidy to Eddie De Bartolo and his partners to develop a high-end shopping mall at the abandoned Farah plant. De Bartolo was a convicted felon who bribed former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards. Today, new players are asking for another public subsidy on the same private property.
There is a key statement in the original information filed against Travis Ketner, Anthony Cobos' former chief of staff, that no doubt we will see again and again as additional indictments are handed up. Ketner was told that his "primary job responsibility would be to find opportunities in which John CC-5, John CC-1 and John CC-2 could receive compensation from vendors seeking contracts with the county, regardless of non-performance or lack of competence."
The document is written in such a way as to make clear that the allegations are against County Judge Anthony Cobos (John CC-5), and lawyers Luther Jones and David Escobar.
In the recent plea involving Raymond Telles, to explain his bribe, Telles said, “I thought that was the only way to do business in El Paso.” An anonymous El Paso lobbyist compared Tony Dill to Jack Abramoff, a convicted Washington lobbyist now in federal prison.
For the next several years, the most dramatic public corruption cases ever will unfold in El Paso’s federal courts. With guilty pleas by two Bear Sterns’ officials, Ketner, Telles, Flores and now Dill, the circle of corruption appears to be closing in on key County players.
Per Judge Montalvo’s order, the FBI is now investigating twelve or more criminal transactions. The El Paso Times reported more than 200 people had their telephone conversations recorded.
Public corruption devastates a community. When private gain is valued over public good, the public suffers. A cycle of corruption is difficult to overcome. Bribes ultimately are paid by taxpayers, making less money available for public goods and services. Inevitably, bribes go up and government quality goes down. The public loses trust in elected officials. People stop voting. Government finally grinds to a halt.
If that sounds familiar, it is what is happening right now in El Paso County, which is paralyzed by a business community hip-deep in unsavory practices. Instead of reform, instead of adopting business ethics, key elements of the business community have created a “Veritas” Business PAC to expand private control over public officials.
To affect substantial change, leadership starts with a business community willing to compete with quality, not buy influence with bribes; to promote the public good, not private gain.
It is past time for El Paso’s honest businesspeople to put an end to government-by-bribery.
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Don Kirkpatrick has been an El Paso resident for more than 45 years and is the former executive editor of the Texas Democratic Times. He received the George Washington Honor Medal from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge.
David K
June 22, 2008
Obvoius?!?!?
Why would anyone else in El Paso bribe an elected official?
I don't see a reality where a group of little league moms throw some cash under the table in order to get a resolution declaring their kid's the best in the city.
This piece was just written to try and connect people Don Kirkpatrick doesn't like to criminals even if he stretches pretty far to make the connection.
The Kirkpatrick mentions a perfectly legal PAC started by business owners and alludes to some kind of unethical control over politcians - which is wrong.
Kirkpatrick also says,
"a business community hip-deep in unsavory practices"
That is wrong. The majority of businesses in El Paso are not hip-deep in unsavory practices. The city has literally thousands of small, medium and large business and 99% are not tied up in this. That statement is a lie.
Last time I checked, Newspaper Tree and their sister publications relied on El Paso businesses for advertising dollars. The very same dollars that pay the salaries of editors and other staff at El Paso Media Group. Letting this guy run the entire business community down for that actions of a few does not bode well for future advertising dollars. I know I'd feel pretty dumb advertising in a magazine that gives amatuer writers the space to run me down.
Maybe if this piece brought something new to the table I'd be quiet about it, but it was simply written to take a shot a Dee Margo and his supporters. As a contributor I have never been able to write anything near this close to a hit piece on a person running for office. If I had even attempted to tie Eliot Shapleigh to a democratic party who calls many of the corrupt players in El Paso members, I would have found that edited out of my piece.
Fairness and truth is what NPT should stand for. Letting a guy like Kirkpatrick make it seem as if Margo hand picked Jones for the award he handed him is just wrong. Dee just happened to be the guy who handed out the award - Jones was selected by another committee. Think about the Oscars - the presenters aren't the ones who voted for the winners.
Ken G
June 22, 2008
Doing business in this city is always a problem. Vendors and contracters don't keep promises. A handshake means nothing. We continue to elect venal politicians who will sell their votes and our tax dollars get wasted. Time for some stiff jail sentences.
Del Pueblo Press
June 22, 2008
Mr. Don Kirkatrick should be congratulated for his article, as should NPT for having the gumption to publish it. Mr. Kirkatrick is not criticizing El Paso businesses, he's criticizing those businesses that abuse the system, and he is also challenging the honest businesses to elevate our corporate culture to the even playing field it should be -- services obtained not with bribes, but with service, quality and price.
There is a much greater number of honest El Paso businesses than corrupt ones -- both large and small. But some influential businesses have been allowed for too long to have too much influence over public policy, and unfortunately that formula became accepted as the only way to land the big contracts: rich companies keeping the doors closed on smaller ones through illegal tactics, and inappropriate "schmoozing."
How much plainer can the division in El Paso be illustrated? The crooked rich and influential calling the shots with the assistance of clueless, criminal or lethargic government officials, and the rest of El Paso aware that their inclusion to good contracts and decisions has for generations been limited by the mantra of the adobe ceiling: it's not WHAT you know, but WHO you know. We've heard that for years. Classic, old-school El Paso corruption depended on us accepting that as truth. Well there is now a growing chorus of people refuting that, and it is a remarkable thing to see. The corrupt form of business and government is losing ground; defend it, and the eyes of El Paso's history will judge you accordingly.
Listen closely; you hear that rustling sound? It's the sound of documents rustling through the FBI's fingers. It's also the sound of the chickens on their way back from a long journey, and finally coming home to roost.
Mr. Kirkatrick is absolutely correct in stating that El Paso businesses should make a stand against the "business as usual" mentality that has kept this town economically suffocated. We at Del Pueblo Press will most certainly heed that call, and encourage others to read his article with positivity rather than negativity. He makes sense. But it's been so long since people have heard good "sense" that it may sound foreign to them. Now that there is an alternative media where more people can speak plainly, where people who make sense can present their ideas and words for others to view, a shifting is beginning to occur.
Now that these intelligent, principled people are beginning to emerge -- mostly through the alternative media, but through the mainstream press as well -- the corrupt and antiquated elements simply don't have the capacity to comprehend their words. These elements are accustomed to the fog of closed-door deal making, under the table payments and misinformation.
Words spoken plainly, as Mr. Crowder, Negron, Olvera and many others, simply make too much sense to support. They present the truth without a dark canopy, and that is a strange new phenomenon in El Paso, and that, in the world of old-school El Paso corruption, is new, unfamiliar and precarious terrain upon which these sinister opportunists are hesitant to tread. So fight against these plain but powerful words the crooked elements of the establishment will.
But they will fight because they see that the times are changing. The sophistication of the average El Pasoan is quickly outpacing the sophistication of the system under which real El Pasoans have been held down. It may turn out to be a smooth process of dialogue, or it may be a street fight. Not to worry, real El Pasoans are quite adept at both. -- Reyes Mata, Del Pueblo Press (pueblo@ureach.com)
Tony Aranda
June 22, 2008
great article Don BUT you forget one thing, in your attempt to smear Margo's name by using him as an example because of his relationship with Jones, you forgot to include others who are still in office and are the majority holders of the democratic seats. They along with others who continue to operate under the farce of being our leaders, lawyers, judges, etc...etc... and yet you find that Dee Margo was a good example when Bob Jones did business with so many.
Do this article some justice and put some real teeth into it by showing prime examples of those dems in office now and those seeking office, and perhaps your article will be easier to accept and understand. By using Margo by name, a well know Republican as an example when there are so many others who have held office as a democrat and continue to do so, along with a long list of possible defendants that are named in a complaint, appears to portray itself more of a "hit piece," thus losing all credibility to what could have been a great article.
In all fairness, if you want to discredit do it the right way and work on both sides of the fence, this way I as a reader will believe that your true intent was to show how public corruption runs rampant and continues to do so, after all there is always another on the same side, same political faction, with the same set of values and friends that are patiently waiting to pick up the batoon and run with it. The end result will then be the choosing of the lesser of two evils, and since one evil has long held rein here, I'm willing to take my chance with the other side, as I have lost all faith in my dem leaders. I suspect so have many El Pasoans, which means the D on the voting ballot will no longer carry that much weight, as it did in the past.
David K
June 22, 2008
I'm encouraged that Del Pueblo press is going to try really hard not to be corrupt. The rest of us simply operate within the rules whether there is a corruption scandal or not.
What a joke.
Most of the businesses in this town are on the up and up.
This is not some rich white conspiracy as some would have you believe. A race war is what some are calling for. Better voter education and turnout is what we need.
The people who bribed public officials are from a very narrow field of El Paso businesses. One company selling health insurance and the architect and engineering field. And within the architect and engineering field it's only companies who sought government contracts - not all in that field do business with the government.
It's a sad state when some want to blame successful people for the crimes of others because they are jealous.
Work hard. Provide a product or service that is second to none and you won't have to be jealous.
Stop running down the employers of this town in order to make yourself seem relevant.
citizen
June 23, 2008
This is a great article. It is true that so many more should be named but that does not change the validity of this article. Guess what, as a newspaper reporter you should not be afraid to write difficult stories. If you are then it is a waste of time for me to read your newspaper.
Many of those in the business community think they are above the law. You see so many that go to jail but keep their wealth and then get out. They are rich and get so much power even after going to jail. There seems to be no deterrant from doing illegal stuff in business, especially when in the end you stay rich. What is a couple of months in jail?
Everyone knew these people were doing things that were illegal, corrupt and those officials were smug about it. We are talking about those that are being investigated. The 80 people. I agree that this is so harmful to El Paso. We need to stop putting people in high regard that do not deserve it.
Keep writing Don K that is your job as a reporter just as it is Judge Montalvo's job to make sure the justice system works. I commend those that take their jobs seriously and do what is right not for money or because it is the popular thing to do but because of duty. Someone has to fight for the people of El Paso.
Del Pueblo Press
June 23, 2008
David K, the bitter voice in the desert. How lost you are in the land of common sense that is El Paso. I will place a quote following this sentence, but the quote will have to be altered so as to make it coherent and non-racist, as his natural inclination is to fan the flames of an imaginary race war. His quote: "This is not some rich ... conspiracy as some would have you believe. ... Better voter education and turnout is what we need."
Look at the statement and it is obvious that addressing the prior will resolve the latter.
The omitted words from his quote were "white" and "A race war is what some are calling for." It's ironic that both statements are coming from the same mouth.
Few people are bringing up race anymore, much less a race war. A poor Hispanic has more in common with a poor black neighbor, a poor white neighbor than he does with a rich Hispanic in Beverly Hills.
Talking about race is for the intellectually uninspired, unless it is done to defend a group that is attacked simply because of their race. The issues surrounding Segundo could be construed as racist, but the existence of other races there renders that theory moot. The real issues today are of class warfare: the rich -- whether they are White, Black, Korean, Jewish or Hispanic -- profiting in finance or influence by abusing the system in a manner that pulls money and voice directly from the pockets and mouths of their poorer community members -- they being of differing races as well.
It's not about race. Most of El Paso is better than that. But it is about your class standing, your ability to defend yourself or to be heard in society without the sword and conch shell provided by the dollar. El Paso's wealthy, or those with self-confessed wealth envy, could make this town a better place by exerting as much energy they expel chasing the dollar toward investing in community improvement projects. Yes, like Paul Foster. He deserves credit for investing in his community. But he should be mindful that "his" community is an implied reference to the collective community, and not a literal possession of territory for his personal use, as the placita is at risk of becoming if El Pasoans aren't watchful.
Elected representatives: protect your constituents' rights. We can't blame Paul Foster, or any other person of considerable wealth, for using their dollars to attempt to gain excessive influence. It is human nature to do so. But if our elected officials, those very people selected by their peers to protect the community's rights, allow it to happen, then the politicians -- not the private sector -- deserve the blame. I'd take 800,000 voices over $800,000 any day. But the problem today is that El Paso has a flawed system where $800,000 is enough to silence 800,000 voices. Do we need proof? Just look at our voter turnout percentages; and look at the picture painted by the juxtaposition of these two realities: *An abundance of money in a few hands; and *Limited voices from our neighborhoods, though they be overflowing with people. Is that just a coincidence? I think not. -- Del Pueblo, Reyes Mata III