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FEDERAL COURT
WASHINGTON DC
Two indictments 4 Zapata men accused in trafficking schemes SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Two indictments have been unsealed following the arrest of one McAllen and four Zapata residents alleging marijuana and cocaine trafficking, the U.S. attorney’s office announced Friday. Both indictments were returned under seal May 13 and unsealed upon Friday’s arrests of Roberto Piedra, 33, Isidro Ramirez, 34, Ramiro Guerrero, 35, and Omar Gonzalez, 50, all of Zapata, and Martin Gonzales Garces Jr., 55, of McAllen. All five are expected to make an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker on Tuesday. The first indictment alleges Piedra, Ramirez, Guerrero and Gonza-
lez conspired to possess with the intent to deliver 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana between February 2013 and Nov. 25, from South Texas to northern destinations. Specifically, transporters would allegedly drive the marijuana from the Rio Grande Valley to Laredo through ranches west of Laredo to avoid traveling through U.S. Border Patrol immigration checkpoints. The indictment alleges the marijuana was concealed in belly dump trucks below loads of caliche as well as in utility trucks for these vehicles to blend in with oil field traffic on ranches. Members of the organization allegedly scouted for these loaded vehicles. The first indictment further alleges that Piedra, Ramirez, Guerrero
and Gonzalez possessed with the intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana on Nov. 2425 and that Piedra possessed with the intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine on Nov. 22. The second indictment alleges that Garces conspired and possessed with the intent to deliver 5 kilograms or more of cocaine on Feb. 7. If convicted, all face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison and a possible $10 million fine. The case is being investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations with the assistance of U.S. Border Patrol and the Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office. Assistant U.S. attorneys Elizabeth R. Rabe and Raul Guerra are prosecuting the case.
El Paso police probe graffiti on billboards ASSOCIATED PRESS
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President nominates San Antonio mayor as housing secretary ASSOCIATED PRESS
CARTEL-STYLE THREATS
See THREATS
Castro is the nominee By DARLENE SUPERVILLE AND JOSH LEDERMAN
CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR
EL PASO — El Paso police were investigating two mysterious messages painted onto billboards in the border city that included mannequins dressed in suits hanging from nooses. The El Paso Times reported that motorists alerted police to the graffiti early Thursday morning. Both billboard companies said the painted messages were vandalism and not paid advertisements. They have been removed. One message read “silver or lead” in Spanish, a threat heard in Mexico signifying pay up or get shot. “This (message) has historically been used by Mexican drug cartels to threaten or intimidate Mexican citizens, business owners and government officials. However, we have never experienced this in El Paso,” Sgt. Chris Mears, a spokesman for the El Paso Police Department, said in a statement. “The investigation is
Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais | AP
President Barack Obama, left, listens to San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, right, after announcing Castro’s nomination to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, on Friday.
Photo by Victor Calzada/El Paso Times | AP
An El Paso police officer checks a makeshift mannequin Thursday hanging on a billboard with the message, “silver or lead,” a threat heard in Mexico signifying pay up or get shot.
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has nominated up-andcoming Democrat Julian Castro as the nation’s housing secretary. The move is part of a broader shuffle of Obama’s Cabinet that includes nominating current housing chief Shaun Donovan to run the Office of Management and Budget. During a State Dining Room ceremony, Obama praised Donovan’s efforts to help the U.S. housing market recover from the recession. He says he is nominating Donovan as budget director because “when you’re good at your job, people always want you to do even more.” Castro is the mayor of San Antonio and is seen as a possible Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2016. Obama says Castro has helped revitalize San Antonio, experience he will draw on as head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Obama chose Castro to deliver the keynote address at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, and his star has been rising ever since. The two men’s life stories are similar: Both are minorities raised by single
mothers, they hold Harvard law degrees and saw their political careers skyrocket after giving widely praised Democratic convention keynote speeches. Castro, 39, is often among those talked about as possible Democratic vice presidential candidates in 2016. If confirmed by the Senate, the three-term mayor would become one of the highest-ranking Hispanic officials serving at the pleasure of the president. Donovan, 48, is highly regarded inside the White House as a strong manager. He is an affordable housing advocate whose work overseeing the federal government’s response to the destruction Hurricane Sandy unleashed on the East Coast in October 2012 has earned glowing praise from White House officials, including Obama. As director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, currently a Cabinet-level post, Donovan would have influence over administration policy and spending. He would be expected to win Senate confirmation for the post. Donovan would replace Sylvia Mathews Burwell. Obama recently nominated Burwell to become secretary of health and human services fol-
See CASTRO PAGE 11A
VETERANS ADMINISTRATION
Whistle-blower accuses agency of ‘cover-up’ VA says its investigation shows cancer and other exams were not changed, countering retired physicians’ claims By JEREMY SCHWARTZ COX NEWSPAPERS
AUSTIN — Department of Veterans Affairs officials in Texas said that an internal review did not substantiate whistle-blower claims of appointment manipulation for cancer and other screenings, a finding that the former doctor who made the allegations called a “cover-up.” Last week, Dr. Joseph Spann, who retired in January after 17 years at the Austin Outpatient Clinic, wrote a letter to federal investigators alleging that the chief of radiology at the VA’s Olin Teague Veterans’ Medical Center in Temple regularly asked physicians to change their requested
date for ultrasounds, MRIs and CT scans to hide the existence of long backlogs for tests. Local VA officials this week also touted an increase in staffing and scanning machines in Austin and Temple over the past seven years, including a newly purchased ultrasound machine for the Austin clinic. Officials did not provide any information on wait times for screenings. But officials said in a statement that a Central Texas Veterans Health Care System review of Spann’s allegations “revealed no requests were made by the Chief (of) Imaging Service to physicians to change the requested date for ultrasounds, MRIs and CT scans.” Spann said he put little stock in
the review. “Central Texas investigating itself is just worthless,” he said. “The truth will come out. So many doctors and clerks saw this that they won’t be able to make this go away.” Spann said that while the backlogs and requests for appointment changes had gotten better in recent years, the problem still persists. He attributed the practice to pressure to meet performance measures that give bonuses to executives for short patient wait times. The review is not the last word on the allegations: Investigators with the VA’s independent Inspector General office interviewed Spann on Wednesday as part of a probe of Central and South Texas
facilities. Spann’s allegations echo those of a scheduling clerk who told the Austin American-Statesman appointment manipulation to hide wait times was common at clinics in Waco, Austin and San Antonio. The allegations were part of a tidal wave of claims across the nation that have led to congressional hearings, at least one early retirement of a top VA official and calls for the resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama weighed in on the unfolding scandal, saying anyone found to have manipulated or falsified records will be “held accountable.” Shinseki has ordered a nation-
wide “audit” of scheduling practices at VA facilities across the country. Last week, the review teams, made up of fellow VA staffers, visited facilities in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Temple, Bonham, Harlingen, Fort Worth, Waco and McAllen. According to VA officials, local “leadership is not aware of any concerns brought up during these audits.” Texas Sen. John Cornyn questioned their value. “What we have is a dysfunctional agency investigating itself,” he said in a statement. “After reports of veterans dying on secret wait lists and others in Texas reported-
See SCHEDULING
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