A team of corrupt Hidalgo County deputies and the son of the former Hidalgo Sheriff were sentenced to federal prison this week, concluding a disgraceful episode in which they protected drug shipments, robbed drug couriers and engaged in other crimes under the color of law enforcement. Here's a notable excerpt
from the McAllen Monitor (April 30):
The Panama Unit corruption scandal started and ended with Jonathan Treviño.
On Wednesday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced former Mission police Investigator Jonathan Treviño
— the youngest son of Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño, who himself
resigned and pleaded guilty to laundering drug money— to 17 years behind
bars.
The corruption scandal started
with the Panama Unit, an anti-narcotics squad that went rogue, stealing
drugs and cash from criminals. Investigators eventually indicted nine
Hidalgo County lawmen and three drug traffickers connected with the
Panama Unit.
“What you all have done is
disgrace us,” Crane said, concluding the nearly five-hour hearing
Wednesday on the ninth floor of Bentsen Tower. “And sentencing you to
prison isn’t ever going to bring back the damage that has been done to
our community, and what people think of the Sheriff’s Office and law
enforcement.”
Jonathan Treviño, who turned 30
on Friday, received the harshest sentence. Assistant U.S. Attorney James
Sturgis described him as the ringleader, saying he approved all the
Panama Unit’s illegal activity and negotiated drug transactions through
an intermediary. ...
While technically a partnership between the Mission
Police Department and Sheriff’s Office, the only person assigned to the
Panama Unit who didn’t ultimately report to Sheriff Treviño was Jonathan
Treviño — the sheriff’s son. They gradually went bad, according to
court testimony, with small thefts escalating to major narcotics
transactions and
armed robbery.
Federal agents started making
arrests on Dec. 12, 2012, starting with Jonathan Treviño and three other
lawmen. The Panama Unit investigation and a related corruption
indictment eventually resulted in criminal cases against Sheriff
Treviño, the county’s three-term sheriff; Cmdr. Jose Padilla, a
top-ranking lawman who helped run the sheriff’s re-election campaigns;
and Chief of Staff Pat Medina, the sheriff’s longtime assistant and
campaign treasurer.
On Wednesday, the two-day Panama
Unit sentencing hearing concluded where the investigation started —
with Jonathan Treviño. Along with him, four other disgraced lawmen and a
drug trafficker appeared Wednesday in federal court.
Crane handed down prison sentences ranging from 10 to 14 years.
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4 comments:
" They gradually went bad, according to court testimony, with small thefts escalating to major narcotics transactions and armed robbery."
This is the way corruption happens. Get away with something small, so why not more? The Drug War is the perfect setup for this to happen, lots of money, victims who don't dare complain, and off the radar of most of the "regular citizens."
Does anybody have a memory of a study accepted scientifically that shows cues of deception as being a scientifically reliable. Specifically, any court opinions in the United States or Texas that articulates that cues of deception are recognized as scientifically valid under the daubert standard.
Our neighbors to the south of our border see this as a perk for being in law enforcement. Enjoy it Texas, we lifted our skirt for it.
It seems to me that Trevino is the 4th or 5th Sheriff to be indicted. I grew up in the Valley; Hidalgo County has, for as long as I can remember, been a hotbed of corruption of all kinds.
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