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RECONSTRUCTION FUNDS
FEDERAL COURT
Missing money
Driver pleads in pot case
Auditors: Billions likely wasted in Iraq public works By ROBERT BURNS ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — After years of following the paper trail of $51 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars provided to rebuild a broken Iraq, the U.S. government can say with certainty that too much was wasted. But it can’t say how much. In what it called its final audit report, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Funds on Friday spelled out a range of account-
ing weaknesses that put “billions of American taxpayer dollars at risk of waste and misappropriation” in the largest reconstruction project of its kind in U.S. history. “The precise amount lost to fraud and waste can never be known,” the report said. The auditors found huge problems accounting for the huge sums, but one small example of failure stood out: A contractor got away with charging $80 for a pipe fitting that its competitor was selling for $1.41.
Why? The company’s billing documents were reviewed sloppily by U.S. contracting officers or were not reviewed at all. With dry understatement, the inspector general said that while he couldn’t pinpoint the amount wasted, it “could be substantial.” Asked why the exact amount squandered can never be determined, the inspector general’s office referred The Associated Press to a report it did in February 2009 titled “Hard Lessons,” in which it said the auditors —
much like the reconstruction managers themselves — faced personnel shortages and other hazards. “Given the vicissitudes of the reconstruction effort — which was dogged from the start by persistent violence, shifting goals, constantly changing contracting practices and undermined by a lack of unity of effort — a complete accounting of all reconstruction expenditures is impossible to achieve,” the
See BILLIONS PAGE 9A
THE ARTS
VISUALIZING CREATIVITY IN THREE DIMENSIONS
Photo by Danny Zaragoza | The Zapata Times
Robert Guzman, artist for the Canif exhibit at Chelsea’s Dance Club in Laredo, and visitor Linda Paez are seen in a mirror’s reflection as Guzman gives Paez a preview of his three-dimensional art exhibit on Friday afternoon for one week. Guzman said it took him two years to get all four pieces made.
By STEPHANIE IBARRA THE ZAPATA TIMES
A former ambulance driver, who remained a fugitive for nearly four years after giving deputies chase in 2008, was sentenced Thursday to 30 months in prison. Manuel Guzman, 28, a Roma native, pleaded guilty earlier this year to possession with intent to distribute marijuana. On July 2, 2008, the Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office received an anonymous tip that an ambulance was being “loaded with bundles,” according to court documents. Guzman was employed by Vital Line, an ambulance service, at the time. Once the ambulance was located, documents state Guzman led officials on a “high-speed chase” southbound on U.S. 83. Guzman’s attorney, Christina A. Villarreal, disputed claims that her client placed the lives of other individuals on the road at unnecessary risk. Villarreal said the drivers that could be seen on the sheriff ’s patrol unit camera moving out of the way could just have been yielding to ambulance and police right-of-way rules. Judge George P. Kazen noted that Guzman passed several vehicles in no-passing zones during the 15-minute chase. Guzman, 24 years old at the time of the offense, came to a stop on a private road, where he abandoned the vehicle and fled. Bundles retrieved from the ambulance contained an estimated 880 pounds of marijuana. Guzman has had a warrant for his arrest since 2008. He managed to circumvent capture — despite getting several traffic citations — until March, when he was pulled over for having a defective headlight, Kazen said. The Roma native pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute marijuana one month after he was arrested. “I’m sorry to my family, especially for what I put them through,” Guzman said. The father of two small children told the court that he had “suffered enough shame and embarrassment” leading up to his arrest. Unable to find work, Villarreal said Guzman had returned to school. Guzman remained out on bond and was permitted to turn himself in at a later date. (Stephanie Ibarra may be reached at 728-2547 or sibarra@lmtonline.com)
COMMISSIONERS
Twice-monthly meetings to resume in August By JJ VELASQUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Once-monthly meetings are a thing of the past for the Commissioners Court. Commissioners approved Monday a measure to hold an additional meeting on the fourth Monday of every month, in addition to the one held on the second Monday.
County Judge Joe Rathmell lauded the decision and said it would help the county run business more smoothly. “I think it’ll be good for us to have a second meeting,” he said. “That way we can take care of county business more efficiently.” Commissioners Court switched to a once-monthly schedule during County Judge Rosalva Guerra’s
term from 2006 to 2010. The court began examining the possibility of adding a meeting to the monthly docket as a way to streamline payments and pre-approve them before invoices are brought to the court. “It will also allow us to take care of things that come up during the month and not wait so long,” Rathmell said. “Any other items that
may come up, we can deal with them earlier.” Because law dictates that Commissioners Court approve invoices before the county treasurer issues payments, Treasurer Romeo Salinas was only able to issue payments once a month under the court’s former schedule. The court begins its new schedule in August. In other county busi-
ness, the court approved the following: Polling stations were consolidated to one location, the Zapata County Courthouse. Rathmell said the county expects to save at least $10,000 by doing so. Multiple polling stations were seen by the county as redundant because officials expect a low turnout after the only local runoff, the constable, Precinct 1 race, was
conceded early. Incumbent Adalberto Mejia dropped out of the race. Reim Construction was awarded an approximately $400,000 contract for the paving of several streets in the Falcon Meza subdivision. Funding for the project comes from a state grant. (JJ Velasquez may be reached at 728-2579 or jjvelasquez@lmtonline.com)