Seems Mr. Cobos was arrested last Friday and charged with taking money in exchange for his approval of refinancing El Paso County debt (to the tune of $40,000,000), among other things.

Officially, Antonio Guillermo Cobos has been charged with 3 counts of conspiracy and fraud, each carrying 20 years imprisonment as their maximum punishment, in the case of  U.S. v. Cobos, filed as case no. 11-3019 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas (El Paso Division) (Available online through PACER).

Early Friday morning, the feds were busy — not only was Cobos picked up, but three other prominent El Paso businessmen were also arrested as part of the same FBI sting operation.

This was not a big surprise to those in the know.

Seems that Tony Cobos’ chief of staff while he was on the bench, Texas lawyer Travis Ketner, already pled out on charges awhile back, and there are purportedly around 20 names in what has become known as the “Ketner Information,” which allegedly describes Cobos’ administration as being very interested in moonlighting for side profits from the bench.

After Ketner, the former El Paso District Clerk Gilbert Sanchez was indicted and convicted, for example.  Others are waiting for the other shoe to drop, like Tony Cabos was until last Friday.

Suzanne Wooten has also been sentenced to ten (10) years probation, a $10,000 fine, and must perform over  1000 hours of community service.  That was the sentence after a deal was reached between the prosecutors and the defense – and approved by visiting judge Kerry Russell.

Seems that negotiations were hot and heavy over the Thanksgiving holiday and when the jury returned to the courtroom, expecting another 3-4 days or more of jury duty for the sentencing phase, the deal was announced. No need for the jury to worry about Judge Wooten anymore.

Was justice done?

It’s a subject of debate.  Judge Wooten had political enemies that some argued had it out for the judge (see our earlier post here).  The ABA Journal reports that in the family law cases upon which the bribery charges were based (i.e., where the judge allegedly took money in exchange for a favorable ruling), Judge Wooten not only testified that she was not aware of any improper campaign donations but that she recused herself from the case after hearing about the connection between a donor and a pending family matter.  Other points: Wooten took a pay cut to take the bench.

Here’s an interesting take on things.  Read the comments section of the Collin County Observer in its local coverage of the verdict: there are still those that think that justice was not served here and that former judge Suzanne Wooten got played.

Judge Woytek told the media at that time that he would be expecting Nieto to continue fulfilling his job requirements until the Powers That Be could find a replacement, because Woytek read the law as requiring this of Nieto, who is an elected official.

Let’s hope that doesn’t come back to bite anyone – because Fred Nieto didn’t give any reasons for why he up and quit the job of Justice of the Peace.  We do have some ideas, though.

1.  Lavaca County DA Investigation Into Fred Nieto, Jr. Joined by the Texas Rangers

For one thing, Heather McMinn, the Lavaca County District Attorney, started an official investigation into Fred Nieto’s activities on and off the bench.  McMinn won’t say what that’s all about – just that the DA’s Office got several complaints about JP Nieto.

Oh, and McMinn phoned the Texas Rangers, asking them to join in the investigation.  Hint, hint.

2.  City of Moulton Puts Municipal Judge Fred Nieto, Jr. on Unpaid Admin Leave

Meanwhile, over in Moulton,  Fred Nieto had another job:  he presided over controversies there as a Moulton municipal judge.  This month, the doors to the Moulton Municipal Court were closed for the month of September and Judge Nieto was placed on an unpaid administrative leave.

3.  Fred Nieto Jr. Isn’t Still Selling Used Cars Any Longer, Either — DMV Shut Him Down

Under Texas law, a justice of the peace can make a living doing other things as well – and Fred Nieto, Jr. sold used cars for a living when he wasn’t being a Lavaca County Justice of the Peace or down at city hall, acting as a Municipal Court Judge.

That is, until last year.  Seems that in August 2010 the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) found Nieto guilty of several violations of Texas law, and not only fined him but revoked his car sales license.  Media investigations reveal that the DMV found that Nieto wasn’t keeping proper records over at the car lot, wasn’t paying sales tax, wasn’t transfering title on a timely basis, among other things.

A used car salesman who was serving as a Texas judge is now being investigated by the Texas Rangers.  You know this story isn’t done.

Judge Suzanne Wooten Is Still Officially Presiding Over Her District Court Bench While Suspended With Pay

Judge Wooten is still officially presiding over the 380th Judicial District Court of Collin County, Texas; however, she is still on suspension by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct so the Honorable Suzanne Wooten has had others covering her work on the bench while she remains at home with pay — and according to the homework done by John Pitchford of the Collin County Observer in checking public salary records, Judge Wooten has been getting $12,000 /month  since October 2010 without taking the bench once.

That’s a pretty long paid vacation, right? Meanwhile, things are getting more and more interesting as her trial was moved and moved again, and now Judge Wooten may not see a trial until sometime next year.

Judge Suzanne Wooten Faces Two More Charges – and a newly released FBI Report

The felony trial of Suzanne Wooten was set to begin on August 20th in front of a visiting judge from the Tyler bench, Judge Kerry Russell; however, that trial date fizzled and it’s predicted there won’t be another solid trial date until after the new year.  Why?

The indictment has been amended — it’s grown with 2 additional charges — and there’s new evidence to deal with:  on the eve of this August trial, the special prosecutors (two Texas Assistant Attorneys General, the special prosecutors that John Roach had asked be appointed to the case, Harry White and Brian Chandler) have finally introduced a report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The FBI has prepared a preliminary 48-page report concerning Judge Wooten’s activities and it was conducted because Judge Wooten complained to the FBI about political shenanigans back in April 2010.  (As described in our earlier post, Wooten is arguing witch hunt, pointing to John Roach’s four different grand jury proceedings against her since her record-breaking election as a Republican back in 2008.)

According to media reports, Judge Wooten’s attorney has charged that the FBI’s report refers to Wooten as ”the victim,” and names members of the Collin County District Attorney’s Office as FBI investigation targets, including the special prosecutors appointed on John Roach’s request, Assistant AGs Harry White and Brian Chandler.  (No wonder some question why that report took so long to get turned over in discovery.)

District Attorney John Roach Has Been Replaced – And His Replacement Wants to Toss This Hot Potato To A NEW Prosecutor Pronto

Meanwhile, over at the District Attorney’s office, things have changed.  John Roach isn’t the Top Dog anymore.  Now, Greg Willis is the District Attorney for Collin County, Texas  — and yesterday, this new District Attorney filed a motion that is making the news: he’s requesting the criminal court judge remove the special prosecutors that John Roach had asked be appointed to the case, Assistant Texas Attorneys General Harry White and Brian Chandler, and that Judge Wooten’s case be prosecuted by someone totally new.

A copy of District Attorney Greg Willis’ motion can be read in its entirety here. From his motion:

“The citizens of Collin County deserve to have an impartial and disinterested attorney appointed by this Court to assess and determine how this prosecution should move forward. To that end, the undersigned District Attorney, also requests permission to recuse himself and requests that this Court appoint an impartial and disinterested attorney pro tem. …

“This matter has been mired in politics, speculation, and allegations of conflicts of interest since its inception. Regardless of the existence of actual conflicts of interest, this prosecution is cloaked in the appearance of impropriety and should not continue on its present course.”

“A prosecutor should be independent, unbiased, without conflicts of interest, and not witnesses to any of the concerns presented to the grand jury.”

“In view of his decision to voluntarily recuse himself, the District Attorney further moves the court to appoint an impartial and disinterested attorney pro tem pursuant Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 2.07. …

“The citizens of Collin County must trust in the integrity of countywide elections, and also in the integrity of those who investigate and prosecute allegations of public corruption in the same manner. The proximity of the Texas Attorney General ‘s Office and that of the former Collin County Criminal District Attorney to the allegations which are at the heart of the indictment, and to the related federal investigations into the same, have placed that trust in jeopardy.”

Last fall, we wrote this was a High Noon face-off between John Roach and Suzanne Wooten and that things would get a lot bigger before the end of it all.  Key to our prediction, the fact that a big bunch of criminal defense attorneys gave Judge Wooten a standing ovation when she took the bench:  again, criminal defense attorneys practicing daily in a local courthouse usually know what’s going down and that act of unity tells us all something.

It’s still going to get bigger.  We’ll keep you posted.

And last week, Judge Sam A. Lindsay got fed up with police officers getting preferential treatment in sentencing – and he officially said so, announcing his frustration from the bench and in the public record as he sentenced a defendant who had served 22 years on the Mesquite, Texas, police department to 1 year and 3 months in a federal pen.

FBI Sting Nabs Sticky Fingered Texas Cop

The backstory unfolds last December, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) got a tip that there was a veteran police officer on the Mesquite Police Department that was a thief: he was routinely taking money from cash taken during police searches. So, the FBI got their cameras and microphones and other fancy gizmos and started their investigation.

Now, the Mesquite cop has been caught, convicted, and sentenced by Judge Sam A. Lindsay. This came about last March, after John David McAllister got busted by the FBI after they put $100,000 into a bag, put it in a car, and then told Mr. McAllister to go get it for them, it was drug money that they wanted seized. Sure enough, video cameras were trained on the car as the Mesquite cop confiscated the bag o’cash and promptly swiped $2000 off the top, stuffing the marked bills into his pants.

It gets better. With that two grand hot in his pocket, the FBI cameras followed good old Mesquite cop John David McAllister as he roamed over to a local mall and got himself a nice watch (price tag, $480).

The Last Straw for the Federal Judge

Things quickly went from bad to worse for the caught cop. Appearing before Judge Sam A. Lindsay for sentencing, he was face to face with a federal judge who’s had enough. Despite crying onlookers, the fact that McAllister pled guilty, and an Internal Affairs review that found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Officer McAllister (who was head of their narcotics department), the bench found a 15 month sentence appropriate.

Of course, Judge Sam A. Lindsay had lots of leeway: the maximum sentence he could have legally imposed was ten years, and when you compare that with 15 months it looks like the judge was lenient. Many disagree, though. They argue that the absence of any criminal record, etc., means that McAllister should get a maximum sentence of 6 months under the federal sentencing guidelines.

That sentencing guideline argument sounds good, but it doesn’t fly. The federal bench is very powerful, and Judge Sam has the discretion to exceed that guideline if, in his opinion, circumstances warrant it.

And boy o boy, does Judge Sam A. Lindsay believe that circumstances warrant it. He’s tired of people who have sworn to uphold the law turn around and break it. He’s explained his decision here as being a deterrence — and he wants other Texas law enforcement officers to notice what has happened this week in his courtroom.

From the bench, the judge bolstered his decision by pointing to a few Dallas-area cases where police officers got caught doing bad things and ended up with probation: no jail time.

Hopefully, other Texas judges will have the courage and integrity of Judge Sam A. Lindsay to let law enforcement know that in the future, cops gone bad will go to jail in Texas. We can hope, right?

El Paso Jury Acquitted Judge After a Full Blown Trial

Last Thursday, Judge Regina Arditti was acquitted after a jury trial of all counts of bribery, and the suspension preventing her from presiding over the 448th District Court was lifted.

The defense called no witnesses in her trial; their motion for a directed verdict was denied.

Back on November 20, 2009, Judge Arditti was indicted by the El Paso grand jury on charges that she had hired the sister of Judge Manuel Barraza on the condition that Judge Barraza hire Judge Arditti’s son in return. The charges included not only bribery but abuse of official capacity, and prohibition applicable to trading.

By the way, Judge Arditti has already announced that she will be running for re-election.

What About the Corresponding Corruption Charges Against Judge Barraza?

Still left to be seen: what will happen to Judge Manuel Barraza.  He’s set for trial, but the Washington Post is reporting that there’s talk that the prosecution may not go forward with that one.

It’s not the same situation, anyway.  Judge Barraza’s already in jail on other corruption charges based on bribery and sexual favors.  Not like Bazzara is going to resuming work and starting up campaign strategy if the prosecution drops their case…. (Read all about Judge Barraza’s arrest by the FBI in our April 2009 post.)

It’s quite another when the reputation of the Texas judiciary is spotlighted this month with two former judges from two different parts of the state going off to jail for their bad acts.

1. State District Judge in the Rio Grande Valley Pleds Guilty to Taking Bribes

Earlier this month, Abel C. Limas made the news as the former Judge of the 404th District Court for the State of Texas who pled guilty in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas to racketeering by soliciting, extorting and accepting bribes totaling $257,300 or more, in exchange for giving favorable rulings to those who forked off some cash.  Limas apparently threw up his hands and made a deal with the feds almost immediately after he was caught.

2.  El Paso County Judge Tried and Found Guilty of Taking Bribes

This week, over in another federal courtroom, former Texas County Judge Luther Jones was found guilty after a full jury trial to verdict of two counts of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and deprivation of honest services. Jones, unlike Limas, fought hard against the charges levied against him and it’s likely that he’ll be appealing this verdict.

Routine Coverage of Texas Judges Gone Bad Harms the Reputation of the Texas Judiciary

Whether or not the judge takes a deal, like Limas, or fights against the charges, like Jones, the reality is that both these men will be spending a significant amount of time behind bars, trading black judicial robes for color-coded cotton jumpsuits.  And the news media will be covering each step in the process of bringing justice in these two cases, every step of the way.

There are plenty of ethical, dedicated men and women serving on the benches of Texas courtrooms, federal and state, today.  However, the more that corruption amidst the Texas judiciary keeps making media headlines (remember Judge Samuel Kent?) the more scandalous our courtrooms become.

Just review the number of Texas Judges whose bad acts have been covered in our “Judge Watch” category.  Judge Roy Bean – the perception lives on.

Now, Judge Charlie Baird is in the news again — and it’s not good.  Seems he has had his papers graded by the 3d Court of Appeals and they’ve ruled that he overstepped his bounds (in legal parlance, “abused his discretion”) when he did not step aside and recuse himself in the Cameron Todd Willingham investigation.  What?

Yepper.  Seems that the appellate court decided that the arguments of Navarro County District Attorney R. Lowell Thompson were sound – and Thompson was arguing that Judge Baird should not have presided over the investigation into whether or not Cameron Todd Willingham was wrongfully executed because (1) Baird is a known opponent of the death penalty and (2) an apparent conflict with his previous ruling in 1995, where Judge Baird as a member of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals voted to uphold Willingham’s conviction. 

Here’s the reality:  Judge Baird, setting in Travis County on a district court bench, did grant a motion brought before him to investigate whether or not the State of Texas executed an innocent man.  Judge Baird is now leaving the bench: he’s going into private practice in a matter of days, and Karen Sage will take the oath of office for that bench.  He’s out of it. 

What will happen to the Willingham Family’s attempts to clear the name of Cameron Todd Willingham?  It’s not clear right now.  It’s pretty sure that Willingham did not kill his kids. It’s pretty clear that Willingham was an innocent man, executed by the State of Texas.  And, it’s pretty certain that Judge Charlie Baird is a man of character and conviction, who seeks to do the right thing.

Judge Baird undertook the task of grading his own papers when he granted the Willingham Family motion to investigate the death of Cameron Todd Willingham.  You’d think he would get some respect for it. 

He’s got it here, folks.

Casey Argues His Position: Felony By a Texas Judge

Casey argues that Judge Hinde violated state law when he sent out letters to lots of folk who had appeared for jury duty after he’d shown up to give them the standard “thank you for your participation in the jury process” speech.  The thank you letters blatantly asked for their vote in the November 2010 election in which Hinde was running for re-election  (the third paragraph begins, ”[w]e Texans elect our judges, and I am asking for your vote for Judge of the 269th District Court.”).

Rick Casey, a well-respected investigative journalist, first used the Texas Public Information Act to get copies of e-mails sent by Judge Hinde and the Harris County District Clerk’s Office, which confirm that the campaigning judge offered his services – volunteered — to speak to all the people who were showing up for jury duty and setting there, waiting in potential juror pools, from July 12, 2010, t0 November 1, 2010 (the day before the election).  That’s 28 mornings where Judge Hinde is essentially campaigning in front of a captive audience.

Casey’s investigation also reveals that Judge Hinde asked the district clerk for details about these folk, including names and addresses.  Why he asked is obvious: he needed this information so he could send letters to all these people (estimated to be around 10,000 individuals).

In Casey’s opinion, Judge Hinde has committed the criminal act of “misuse of official information” under Tex. Penal Code Section 39.06(c) which states:

A person commits an offense if, with intent to obtain benefit or with the intent to defraud another, he solicits or receives from a public servant information that 1) the public servant has access to by means of his office or employment; and 2) has not been made public.

Judge Hinde Responds That Technically, There’s Been No Violation of the Law

Casey argues that this violates the Texas Penal Code.  Judge Hinde disagrees, arguing that: paragraph D of the law defines information not made public as “information to which the public does not generally have access, and that is prohibited from disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code,” and the Judge argues that the information on jurors is not subject to Chapter 552  so its disclosure by definition is not prohibited.   Second argument:  seeking reelection isn’t seeking a benefit under Texas law, something already decided in the proceedings involving Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht.

Form over Substance: And is This Skirmish The End of This Controversy?

Form over substance, really.  Under Judge Hinde’s argument, technically he didn’t violate the language of the law even though the spirit of the statute is to keep juror info confidential.   The real question is: will this be the end of this controversy (so future jury pools can expect campaign correspondence all across the state), or will there be a tribunal other than Rick Casey’s column where the judge’s actions are considered?

Let’s see what happens.

Texas Judge Indicted on Bribery Charges Stemming from 2008 Political Campaign

Suzanne Wooten took the bench a couple of years back for the first time, after a hard fought campaign; last week, the Collin County District Attorney saw Judge Wooten indicted on six (6) counts of bribery and one (1) count of organized criminal activity.  

Three other individuals were also charged:  Judge Wooten’s campaign manager James Stephen Spencer along with David Cary and his wife, Stacy Stine Cary, also face the same allegations of bribery and organized criminal activity.

These are big charges.  Engaging in organized criminal activity is a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison. Each charge of bribery is a second-degree felony carrying up to a 20-year sentence. That’s 120 years in total, folks, in case that life imprisonment for the organized crime charge isn’t big enough for you. 

The Crimes that Judge Wooten Allegedly Committed – What We Know Now (Stay Tuned for More)

According to the Collin County District Attorney’s office, these criminal charges against a setting district judge arise from Suzanne Wooten’s hard-fought campaign in 2008, where she ran for the position of judge and claimed victory over Judge Charlie Sandoval, who had presided over the 380th Court for over a dozen years without ever having any run against him.  

The indictments claim that Mr. and Mrs. Cary forked over around $150,000 to campaign manager Spencer — and they didn’t do this just to help her win the election.  Allegedly the Carys additionally slid that large amount of cash across the table (purportedly in a series of six payments – the indictment gives dates and amounts) so they would get favorable rulings from Judge Wooten after she took the bench. 

Judge Wooten’s Position – It’s a Witch Hunt and Judge Wooten’s Fighting Back

Judge Wooten and her co-defendants are all calling foul here, claiming that the District Attorney has his own agenda. Her court filings from July 2010 allege that the morning after Wooten beat Sandoval in the 2008 election, Charles Sandoval was meeting with the local D.A., John Roach, to complain that Wooten had cheated somehow. 

These same court filings by Judge Wooten allege that D.A. Roach was “intimidating and harassing her” and that she believed the District Attorney’s Office was trying to force her resignation.

Judge Wooten has impaneled a grand jury and she’s asked for a special prosecutor to investigate “possible criminal wrongdoing” in D.A. Roach’s office.  This happened last month. 

What about the Local Lawyers in this High Noon Face Off?

This Monday, before court began, 30+ lawyers took the time to go over to the 380th Courtroom and when Judge Wooten entered to take the bench that day, they all gave her a standing ovation.  

This is a big deal for a group of defense lawyers to do, mind you.  The lawyers practicing down at the local courthouse usually know the lay of the land, and having this coordinated public effort speaks volumes about what the defense bar thinks of the charges made against the Judge. 

In fact, local attorney Sharon Curtis, president of the Collin County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, stood in the courtroom that morning to tell Judge Wooten that the group was there to publicly acknowledge that they were 100% behind the judge, and would work to help her.  According to media reports, Curtis went so far to claim that the charges against Wooten were “… nothing but a witch hunt.”

Stay tuned.  This is going to get a lot bigger before it goes away.