Thread: TX: State lawmaker acquired ranch from drug dealers

State lawmaker acquired ranch from drug dealers


Associated Press - December 5, 2008 7:05 PM ET

AUSTIN (AP) - Prosecutors are investigating the growing real estate portfolio of a South Texas lawmaker who acquired valuable land from convicted drug dealers.

The Associated Press reports the Travis County investigation of state Rep. Ismael "Kino" Flores of Palmview began over questions about discounted air travel.

Flores attorney Roy Minton today confirmed the probe has widened to include the legislator's land holdings.

One is a South Texas ranch where an illegal immigrant was allegedly beaten to death by 1 of the legislator's ranch hands -- another illegal immigrant -- who then fled to Mexico.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino says prosecutors have asked for his agency's report and affidavits on that case.

Flores was never suspected of involvement in the crime. Minton says he's "dead certain" the public corruption probe in Austin has nothing to do with the unsolved killing.

Assistant District Attorney Gregg Cox did not immediately return a call to AP.

Records show Flores in 2005 gained control of a six-acre tract from convicted drug dealers in Hidalgo County.

Minton says there's nothing illegal about buying property from ex-convicts.

AP reports records show the land was previously co-owned by Roel and Joel Benavides, brothers who both served time in federal prison for drug-related crimes.

Joel Benavides didn't immediately return a call for comment. Roel Benavides couldn't be reached.

www.kdbc.com

State lawmaker acquired ranch from drug dealers
By JAY ROOT and CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Associated Press Writers © 2008 The Associated Press
Dec. 5, 2008, 5:41PM

AUSTIN — Prosecutors are investigating the growing real estate portfolio of a powerful South Texas lawmaker who acquired valuable land from convicted drug dealers.

The Travis County investigation of state Rep. Ismael "Kino" Flores, D-Palmview, began over questions about discounted air travel he allegedly received from a major political contributor who is developing a racetrack. But the probe has since widened to include Flores' land holdings, his lawyer, Roy Minton, said Friday.

One of those holdings is a South Texas ranch where an illegal immigrant was allegedly beaten to death by one of Flores' ranch hands, another illegal immigrant, who then fled to Mexico. Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino said prosecutors have asked for his agency's report and affidavits on that case.

Flores was never suspected of involvement in the crime and Minton said he is "dead certain" the public corruption probe in Austin has nothing to do with the unsolved killing.

Assistant District Attorney Gregg Cox did not return a phone call from The Associated Press.

In 2005, Flores gained control of a 6-acre tract from convicted drug dealers in Hidalgo County, on the Texas-Mexico border, records show.

Minton said the ranch itself, and how Flores acquired it, have become the subject of criminal inquiry.

"I know from talking to the district attorney's office that they have looked at several things, including that transaction," Minton told The AP. "I've never had them suggest to me topside or bottom that there's anything wrong with it."

Flores is chairman of the House committee that oversees the gambling industry and is a key ally of House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland. The Travis County district attorney's office investigates possible wrongdoing by state officials.

Records show Flores' land was previously co-owned by Roel and Joel Benavides, brothers who both served time in federal prisons for drug-related crimes, as well as a third man who has died.

A message left for Joel Benavides Friday was not immediately returned. Roel Benavides could not be reached for comment.

Flores also acquired a 3.2-acre tract in Bastrop County, near Austin, from Roel Benavides — a transaction that has sparked a breach-of-contract suit from Roel Benavides's ex-wife. Connie Louis Rayo claims that Flores owes her $60,000 for the tract, which is now valued at $102,316, records show.

Bastrop County records show Flores acquired the property from Roel Benavides and Rayo with a warranty deed, which conveys the property to Flores. Rayo's lawsuit says Flores promised to pay her $118,000 and she is still owed $60,000.

Flores didn't acquire the Hidalgo County ranch through the usual purchasing process. A judge awarded him ownership in January 2005 on the land he had used for more than 10 years. The process, known as adverse possession, allows people to acquire legal title to land that they have used unimpeded for at least a decade, much like a common-law marriage. Flores expanded the ranch with the purchase of a 5-acre tract in April, property records show. The combined appraised value is about $143,000.

It's not clear whether any money changed hands.

Minton said he couldn't describe the relationship between the Benavides brothers and Flores, but the attorney said there's nothing illegal about buying property from ex-convicts.

Roel Benavides worked for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in South Texas from July 2004 to August 2008, but no longer works there, officials said. Flores filed the claim to the property in February 2004.

The Benavides brothers both served time in federal prisons in the early 1990s.

Roel Benavides, 60, was sentenced to eight years in prison for the use of a communication facility to facilitate a felony, known as a "phone count." The crime falls under the Controlled Substances Act and usually means that he used a telephone as part of a drug offense. While the details of that case were not immediately available, federal court records list the charge against one of Roel Benavides' co-defendants as selling, distributing or dispensing narcotics.

Roel Benavides served more than four years in a federal prison in Three Rivers, Texas, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The bureau also listed prison time for Roel Benavides in 1979, though the circumstances of that detention were not immediately available.

Joel Benavides, 54, served about three years in federal prisons in Tennessee and Texas for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 350 grams of cocaine, prison records show. He was released in August 1993, records show.

The investigation started over Flores's flights between Austin and the Rio Grande Valley on a plane owned by the LaMantia family, Minton said.

The family owns a Budweiser distributorship in South Texas and is developing a $23 million horse racetrack in Hidalgo County.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6149796.html

Texas state Rep. Kino Flores indicted
By JAY ROOT and APRIL CASTRO Associated Press Writer © 2009 The Associated Press
July 17, 2009, 6:12PM

AUSTIN, Texas — State Rep. Kino Flores was indicted by a Travis County grand jury for failing to disclose sources of income, real estate transactions and gifts, including a racehorse given to his son by a lobbyist, Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg announced Friday.

Lehmberg said a grand jury returned six indictments against the southern Texas Democrat. Flores, of Palmview, is charged with 16 counts of tampering with a government record and three counts of perjury. Tampering with a government record is a felony punishable by up to two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000. Perjury is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and fine of up to $4,000.

Flores did not immediately comment on the allegations.

The indictment accuses the 50-year-old lawmaker of not listing income sources, gifts received, property holdings and real estate sales as required on personal financial statements filed with the Texas Ethics Commission. Between 2004 and 2009, Flores failed to disclose income in excess of $115,000 each year, prosecutors say.

The indictments say Flores omitted income received from the city of McAllen, D. Wilson Construction, Broaddus and Associates, Health Systems Resources, Inc., Rio Grande Steel, Renegade Enterprises of South Texas and other companies.

Flores also failed to disclose various gifts, including 2007 trips on a plane owned by the LaMantia family, which has a Budweiser distributorship in southern Texas. In addition, the indictment alleges that Flores failed to reveal that his son, Kino Flores, Jr., received an interest in a racehorse from Austin lobbyist Marc Rodriguez.

His son also received undisclosed income from Austin lobbying firm HillCo Partners in 2005 and 2006, according to the indictments.

The Travis County investigation of Flores began last year over questions about air travel he allegedly received from the LaMantia family. But the probe later widened to include Flores' land dealings.

One of those holdings is a southern Texas ranch where an illegal immigrant was allegedly beaten to death by one of Flores' ranch hands, another illegal immigrant, who then fled to Mexico. Flores was never suspected of involvement in the crime.

In 2005, Flores gained control of a 6-acre tract from convicted drug dealers in Hidalgo County, on the border with Mexico, records show. The land was previously co-owned by Roel and Joel Benavides, brothers who served time in federal prison for drug-related crimes, records indicate.

It wasn't immediately clear which specific Hidalgo County properties Flores failed to properly reveal, but Lehmberg's office said the omissions included a ranch and a lot.

Flores also failed to disclose his interest in and ownership of a downtown Austin penthouse condominium, a home in the upscale south Austin Onion Creek subdivision and property in Bastrop County. Flores allegedly failed to disclose his interest in and sale of a fishing cabin, accessible only by boat, in Cameron County, records show.

Flores is a colorful and combative lawmaker who once wielded tremendous influence in the Legislature as a top lieutenant of former House Speaker Tom Craddick. Under Craddick, he chaired the House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee, which oversees gambling and liquor industries in Texas.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6534924.html

"One of those holdings is a southern Texas ranch where an illegal immigrant was allegedly beaten to death by one of Flores' ranch hands, another illegal immigrant, who then fled to Mexico. Flores was never suspected of involvement in the crime."

An ILLEGAL EMPLOYER hires two ILLEGALS during their ILLEGAL EMPLOYMENT one ILLEGAL beats the Other ILLEGAL to death and the ILLEGAL EMPLOYER was "never suspected of involvement in the crime."???

Tony Saprano would like the sound of this.

Just another typical DEMOCRAT!!!!

Just another typical politician !!!!