Thread: STATE REP. MAKES COSTLY MISTAKE

Lawmaker calls realty venture a mistake

Web Posted: 06/29/2007 10:47 PM CDT

Guillermo X. Garcia
Express-News

State Rep. Robert Puente said Friday he made a mistake by joining a real estate venture with a longtime friend and lobbyist who pushed legislation that came before Puente's committee.
"I made a choice to get into an investment that I should not have gotten into," Puente said. "My business relationship has left a perception, totally unfounded and untrue, that that was clouding my ability to represent my constituents."


The San Antonio Democrat said he has quit his business dealings with lobbyist Marc A. Rodriguez "so that the cloud that this somehow impacts how I vote or how I file or handle a bill will begin to be cleared away."

Puente, an attorney, said he also has stopped representing Rodriguez in legal matters "so as to eliminate any further conjecture. ... Marc fully understands why I now feel I should not represent him."

Puente's business dealings with Rodriguez, a friend for more than two decades, came to light in San Antonio Express-News articles over the purchase of Hays County land and a separate deal in which Puente bought a modest San Antonio house and four months later sold it to Rodriguez for more than a $20,000 profit.

Puente acknowledged Friday he had sold the home for $70,500.

Puente, a 16-year veteran of the Texas House, has served as chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, which oversees statewide water issues, since 2003.

In May, legislation to create a special utility district that would have greatly increased the value of 101 acres of Hays County property owned by Tope Development Services passed through Puente's committee.

Puente, a partner with Rodriguez in the development, recused himself on that vote and again when it came up on the House floor. Still, the issue raised eyebrows.

While noting he now has left the partnership and that he's repurchased the Southwest Side house from Rodriguez, Puente was adamant that he did nothing wrong.

"What I did was totally legal, totally ethical, but looking back on it, I never should have done it. That was the mistake I made," Puente said.

He acknowledged his business ties could have damaged the public's perception of how he operates as a legislator.

"I value my name and my integrity so much that I want my constituents to know that every single thing I do in the Legislature is above reproach," Puente said. "I don't want anybody to ever think that a bill I filed, or the way I voted, had anything to do with anything except the best interests of my constituents."

He said the venture's partners bought him out for "what I put into the investment. No more, no less. I have also repurchased the house for the same amount he bought it for. No more, no less."

Rodriguez, who has not publicly commented, didn't respond to phone messages seeking comment.

Campaign finance and ethics reform advocates said Puente's business relationships raised the perception that the dealings may not have been at arm's length.

"It raises deep concerns when legislators are doing business with lobbyists, buying and selling things to them," Fred Lewis an Austin attorney who promotes ethics reform, said in a June 17 Express-News article.

"The mistake I made," Puente said, "was doing something that allowed people to question my integrity, and I don't want that to ever happen again."

Lets see .. Puente is an attorney and a real estate tycoon and he's giving it all up to be a State Representative?

Wow ... I wonder why?

Puente's business dealings with Rodriguez, a friend for more than two decades, came to light in San Antonio Express-News articles over the purchase of Hays County land and a separate deal in which Puente bought a modest San Antonio house and four months later sold it to Rodriguez for more than a $20,000 profit.

If you're going to prostitute yourself, at least make sure the money is adequate.

What influence will he have on directing money to his friends? That seems to be why most of our political officals seem to be going into office. It sure is not to represent the people anymore.

He knew exactly what he was doing. I'm tired of illegal, unethical behavior of our representatives. What he's really saying is, "Uh, oh.. I got caught... there's no rehab for this... so... oh, I caught myself doing something unthinking and I've corrected it." TOO LATE.

Originally Posted by CountFloyd

Puente's business dealings with Rodriguez, a friend for more than two decades, came to light in San Antonio Express-News articles over the purchase of Hays County land and a separate deal in which Puente bought a modest San Antonio house and four months later sold it to Rodriguez for more than a $20,000 profit.

If you're going to prostitute yourself, at least make sure the money is adequate.

Truly!