Former Cameron DA convicted of bribery

Reported the Houston Chronicle ("Former DA convicted in corruption trial," May 24), "A jury on Friday night found former Cameron County District Attorney Armando R. Villalobos guilty on all but two corruption charges after two weeks of testimony that he took bribes to influence cases before him." The case is part of a broader ongoing corruption prosecution in South Texas.:

Villalobos, who took the stand in his own defense, was charged in a wide-ranging corruption scheme in Cameron County that has resulted in guilty pleas by eight people, including former state Rep. Jose Santiago “Jim” Solis as well as [former state District Judge Abel] Limas.

Former Austin attorney Marc Rosenthal and Port Isabel attorney Ray Marchan were convicted by juries of extortion and racketeering. Marchan took his life when he jumped from the Queen Isabella Causeway in Port Isabel earlier this year on the same day he was to report to prison.

One notices it took the feds stepping in to hold a local DA criminally liable. State-level accountability mechanisms from the state bar to the court system as a general rule aren't up to the task.