Thread: Mexican Consulate in Dallas Accused of Accepting Kickbacks

Mexican Consulate in Dallas accused of accepting kickbacks from lawyer

10:30 AM CDT on Friday, May 8, 2009
Associated Press

A group of people who sought advice from the Mexican Consulate in Dallas allege kickbacks and corruption in a scheme to mislead them into retaining the services of two lawyers who bill themselves as the office's general counsel.

Four North Texas residents and a woman living in Monterrey, Mexico, filed a class-action lawsuit in a Dallas County court alleging the consulate referred them to Dallas attorney Pablo Alvarado and his employee, Alvino Guajardo, for legal representation they sometimes didn't need or want.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges Alvarado gave kickbacks, cash and favors to consulate employees in return for exclusively referring lucrative personal injury cases to him.

Alvarado and Guajardo did not immediately return calls and e-mails for comment Thursday.

Although referred to in the lawsuit, the Mexican Consulate in Dallas is not a defendant in the case. Consular spokesman Jesus Contreras said the office could not comment on pending litigation.

Thousands of Mexican citizens living in North Texas seek advice, documents and other services at the consulate in Dallas. But the suit alleges families are not referred to Guajardo and Alvarado because of their qualifications but because of what consular employees receive.

Although several other lawyers perform pro bono work for the consulate, they do not receive the same treatment because they don't "take care" of the consular employees like Guajardo and Alvarado, the suit alleges.

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/n ... 71569.html

Lawsuit Alleges Mexico's Consulate in Dallas is a "Lawless World Where Rules Do Not Exist"
By Robert Wilonsky in News You Can Actually Use, Actually
Thursday, May. 7 2009 @ 10:53AM
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If nothing else, attorney Larry Friedman's petition filed yesterday in Dallas County County District Court -- a class action lawsuit in which four Dallas County residents and one living in Monterrey, Mexico, allege "corruption and greed" at the Mexican Consulate on Stemmons Freeway -- is a great read. Dig it: "When you step inside the Consulate you step into a 'lawless' world where rules do not exist, where corruption, ethical violations, bribery and kickbacks reign supreme." Dibs on the movie rights.

The suit alleges that one attorney representing himself as the consulate's general counsel isn't actually an attorney, and that another man representing himself as same pays off the other guy for "the right to be the exclusive referral attorney for all the potentially lucrative injury cases from the families of the victims that come to the Consulate for help." Courthouse News has the lengthy summary. Developing, as the kids say. Till then, Friedman clearly needs a literary agent.

Update: Guess who reads Unfair Park. Go ahead, guess. You got it: Enrique Hubbard Urrea, consul general at the Mexican Consulate here. He's coming to Unfair Park HQ tomorrow to tell "the other side of the story."

Is there no end to their whining? Why are our courts taken up with Mexican nationals suing their own Embassy? Why don't they take their "issues" to Mexico and have a lawsuit there, get their money from Mexico and then stay there? It's the Mexican Dream, isn't it?

Oh, I believe this. I've heard how they opperate over there. People line up outside to get waited on and they stand there as attorney's walk past them get let into a locked door with breifcases full of files to process and they get waited on first.

Dixie