Rep. Flores indicted by Travis County grand jury

[sonias]

Postcards from the Lege blog 7/17/09
Rep. Flores indicted by Travis County grand jury

State Rep. Kino Flores, D-Palmview, was indicted by a Travis County grand jury for failing to disclose sources of income, gifts and other information that state officials are required to detail in personal financial statements, Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg said today.

Her office said the six indictments include 16 counts of tampering with a governmental record — for which Flores faces up to two years in state jail and a fine of up to $10,000 — and three counts of perjury — for which he faces up to one year in state jail and a fine of up to $4,000.

Well we knew this was coming. :popcorn:

I hope Sandra Rodriguez who challenged him in the primary and almost won is ready to run again. She should win it this time. HD-36 is solidly Democratic so we're not losing this seat. We're just going to get a better Representative.

Sonia

[Gman]

1. More information

BROWNSVILLE — State Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores, D-Palmview, has been indicted, accused of failing to disclose more than a half-million dollars in income as well as assorted high-value gifts and properties, Travis County prosecutors said on Friday.

A grand jury returned six separate indictments against the 12-year legislator, each relating to required financial statements filed yearly since 2004.

The six indictments contain a total of 16 charges of tampering with a governmental record and three counts of perjury.

Flores did not return a call for comment. His office said they would issue a statement soon.

The indictments allege Flores failed to disclose more than $152,000 in 2004, $125,000 in 2005, $115,000 in 2006, $135,000 in 2007, $185,000 in 2008 and $135,000 in 2009. He also is charged with failing to disclose income that a dependent child received from an Austin lobby firm.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6534707.html

Nothing in the Valley surprises me anymore.

absolutely nothing.

[Aragorn]

2. thanks

for the details.

[WolverineDG]

3. I find it interesting that the Leos turned on him

when I was down there, the Flores & the Leos were likethis.

dg

[sonias]

4. Kino' Flores booked, released from Travis County jail

McAllen Monitor 7/20/09
Kino Flores booked, released from Travis County jail

State Rep. Ismael "Kino" Flores turned himself in to Travis County authorities Monday, three days after he was indicted on charges of perjury and tampering with government documents.

The Palmview Democrat arrived at the downtown Austin jail with his attorneys just before 3:30 p.m. and was released within two hours, according to police.

A judge granted the representative a personal recognizance bond, meaning he will only have to spend time in a jail cell if he fails to show up for scheduled court dates.

Neither Flores nor his Austin-based attorney – Roy Minton – returned calls for comment Monday, but they vowed to fight the charges in a statement released last week.

Flores, 50, stands accused of lying to a state ethics agency and failing to report more than $847,000 in personal assets on his financial disclosure forms between 2004 and this year.

Sonia

[sonias]

5. Kino’s Konundrum

Burka Blog 7/21/09
Kino’s Konundrum

The defense for Kino Flores, who was indicted by a Travis County grand jury on charges relating to the failure to report his sources of income as is required by state ethics laws, was laid out by his lead attorney, Roy Minton, in an exclusive interview with the Rio Grande Guardian:

"I can tell you that the most common problem that people like Ed Shack have with members of the legislature is to get them to fill out in total all sources of income, all property that they own," Minton said.

(snip)
But this is a long-established pattern of omissions over six years. The Guardian listed the annual total of income that went unreported:

2004 $152,000
2005 $125,000
2006 $115,000
2007 $135,000
2008 $185,000
2009 $135,000

Total unreported income: $847,0000
(snip)

One possible line of attack for the defense is that ethics laws are hard to understand and are designed to trip up politicians. Another is that the omissions didn’t amount to much. But a million dollars or more over eight years (including the value of the real property) can hardly pass as de minimus. I would never underestimate Minton’s abilities as a lawyer, but this looks like a tough one to fight.

Sonia