ustxtxb_obs_1994_10_14_50_00012-00000_000.pdf

Travelling to the Davis Mountains, McDonald Observatory, or the Big Bend? Stay overnight at beautiful Fort McKavett. Planning a trip out west this fall? Take a break at beautiful, historic Fort McKavett, just 24 miles north of 1-10 at exit 442 \(on your official Texas Highway of our historic buildings, or count stars ’til you fall asleep under crystal clear West Texas skies. Ft. McKavett, located at the headwaters of the San Saba River, is three hours from Austin, and three hours from San Antonio, and a perfect place to stop some advance notice we can even have a little supper ready for you! During the day, take time to visit one of the best restored ‘Buffalo soldier’ era forts in the country. We have a great museum and bookstore, and lots of hiking options available on our 80 acre site. Prices start at $15.00 per person for overnight accommodations, families are welcome. For reservations, call 915/396-2358 or 512/458-1016. No smoking or alcoholic beverages allowed on the premises; however the Fort McKavett Trading Post is lo cated 1/4 mile from the Fort and they permit both smoking and drinking. Fort McKavett Historic Site is oper ated under contract with Texas Parks and Wildlife by Texas Rural Communities, a non -profit corporation der? Did we take the money to continue our investigation?” De Anda asked, concluding, “This is not a case of corruption and greed. This is a case of government overreaching.” “Was he playing the role when he took the stand?” prosecutor Herrera asked. “To believe the defendant’s story, you would have to believe that Toto would violate all sound procedures. Wouldn’t a 30-year veteran protect an important civilian like the judge with backup and surveillance? To believe Guevara you would have to believe that Toto turned his back on his oath and allowed a plane with 300 kilos to land and refuel,” she continued. “The story that the defendant told is just not true. It’s fiction. You’ll find it in fairy tales. He trampled all over his oath of office. He trampled all over the oath he took in here. He trampled on the reputation of a good cop,” Herrera told the jurors in closing. The jurors deliberated quickly, asking after three hours for a clarification of the 10th count, the conspiracy to distribute cocaine count. After Judge Kazen explained the count, the jurors filed quickly from the courtroom, none of them making eye contact with GueVara as they walked past him to continue deliberations. Less than an hour later, they pronounced their verdict, finding Guevara guilty of six counts of official extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion and not guilty of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and not guilty of money laundering. In a quiet moment just after the verdict Was pronounced, the jury had been dismissed and the courtroom vacated, prosecutor Herrera said, “They believed him to be a corrupt public official. He wasn’t credible. They gave no credence to Guevara’s use of Toto, his public-authority defense. The jurors used their common sense to convict him. This is a significant victory, one that says that the U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Texas has every intention to prosecute those who violate federal law. Public officials who engage in corrupt conduct will not be tolerated.” Defense attorney De Anda said the verdict proved there is a great deal of skepticism about government sting operations. “I became involved because I saw the case as shooting fish in a barrel. You had federal agents initiating a crime and seeing whether local officials would agree to be part of the crime.” Not so, said U.S. Customs resident agent Dan Lynch of the Falcon Heights enforcement office that initiated the case against Guevara. “It is not. entrapment when the subject shows a propensity for the acts of which he is accused. It was clear to us, and the evidence supported us…. “When it became a public corruption case, the FBI took the lead on the investigation,” Lynch said of the operation, which began in 1989. Of the judge’s conviction on six public corruption counts, Lynch said, “Considering the length of the investigation and the amount of evidence that had to be argued in so short a time, this turned out very well.” He added that at times his entire staff worked on the case. “Special agent Jose Lozano was our full-time officer on the investigation,” Lynch said. “On the morning of the arrests, he and FBI agent Juanita Benavides found the judge at the county courthouse and advised him that he needed to accompany them to Laredo,” Lynch explained. Agent Lozano, a former Texas DPS officer, recalled that as he and Benavides drove Guevara north to Laredo they encountered the impressive fleet movement of southbound teams of Operation Prickly Pear agents making their way to Zapata from the Laredo FBI office where the operation was coordinated. “We communicated by radio with those teams and with Laredo,” Lozano said. “Up to the time we saw the agents moving to Zapata, the judge had been making small talk and trying to figure out what the indictment was about. He asked us if it was about a truck his brother had. Once he saw the cars, he became very quiet. I could see that he was very concerned,” Lozano recalled. For Pepe Guevara, the burlon, the charmer who had seduced some of his constituents while he intimidated others, his long, fast ride had come to an end. 12 OCTOBER 14, 1994