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| Robert Lopez |
He was now in a runoff for City Commissioner At-Large with Estela Chavez-Vasquez. Martin Sarkis had finished third in that race with neither Vasquez or Lopez grabbing a majority.
Robert introduced his obviously pregnant wife, likely in her third trimester, to the gathering, stating that she and the expected child were the larger part of his reason for running for office.(Actually, in the previous election for Texas Southmost College trustees, Lopez had narrowly lost the race for one of those offices.)
Weeks later, there was a sparsely attended Casino Night, held upstairs in an apartment in the historic building at 12th and Adams St., owned by Attorney Trey Mendez. It would not have been too great a leap to have viewed Robert Lopez as contemporaneous and within the peer group of TSC trustees Francisco Rendon and Trey Mendez.
Our next contact with Lopez was at a Brownsville Cheezmeh party in May of 2011. The Cheezmeh group was then a loose affiliation of concerned citizens, political operatives and partyers in the city. None had actually met Erasmo Castro, except his sister Linda. Most Cheezmites did not even know he was behind the website.(Erasmo's grand entrance came later that summer at the City Commission meeting installing the new commissioners where the guru gave his "I AM Brownsville Cheezmeh!" speech heralding the group's participation in the successful campaigns of Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa and John Villarreal.) Steve Quick, Dino X. Chavez, Nena and I met
with Lopez just inside the courtyard of the Days Inn, across from the room where the Cheezmeh party was being held. Here is this blog's recounting of that interview in a story from February 14, 2013:
"Young, personable, educated and a family man. There seemed to be a lot to like about Robert Lopez. We went to his meet & greet at Cobbleheads when he was running for City Commissioner At-Large Place "A", then his casino night fundraiser at Trey Mendez' loft on Adams Street.
We were still with Cheezmeh back then and several of us met with Robert to see if we wanted to support him. One question we Cheezmites always asked is if the candidate was controlled by Ernie Hernandez. That seems funny now with Brownsville Cheezmeh part of the Hernandez team.
Predictably, Lopez said he was his own man. Someone asked about problems with the winterization program. Robert started talking about a state investigation. His conversation got rapid and more convoluted. The more Robert talked the more shady he sounded. We decided not to recommend any candidate for At-Large, Place "A". Robert's opponent, Estela Chavez-Vasquez, had stiffed us on the interview.
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| Ernie Hernandez claimed he "knew nothing" about the Robert Cadriel hiring. |
Going along to get along does not always pan out, especially when you are dealing with a family of sociopaths.
ReplyDeleteHere you go Brownsville, gloat on your small town "corruption" brought to justice. All these people should be awarded medals for being such small stakes crooks when the big winners are our most respected business men. This is the equivalent of picking up nickels in front of a steam roller. All Hernandez has to do is say is that his actions conform to community standards, extrapolated from the national level, to lie, steal and cheat. Is that not the foundation of common law and our judicial system?
ReplyDeleteRead and learn: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-11-14/how-jp-morgan-bribed-chinese-prime-ministers-daughter-using-fake-name
JP Morgan fell under the gavel and taken out by the courts as well, when they busted up the oil and railroad barons with anti trust. Learn a little history will you. BTW Defending a crook who you admit is a crook! LOL pathetic!!
DeleteJP Morgan was fined a pittance compared to money they made by rigging markets and insider trading. I am not defending anyone. I was being facetious. But, if you wish to defend JP Morgan and the current US justice system, be my guest. We have been witness to the biggest theft of wealth in the history of mankind by the big banks.
DeleteAs far as your glib reference to the trust buster Teddy Roosevelt, I do know a little history and Obama/Bush are no Teddy Roosevelt.
who cares about a century old dead guy? your point being that Ernie Hernandez should be given a free pass because JP Morgan, long dead, also made a profit from corruption? don't think so BWC what an insane defense! Or aka "being facetious", like, spending several months defending the Hernandez people today found guilty on all counts. Dude WTF??
DeleteNo offense, but you might want to read up on the long "dead" JP Morgan. He is very much alive in the person of Jaime Dimon, CEO, of JP Morgan Bank. You can start your education by going to the link I provided above. Regarding defending los Hernandez, you are way off base there. If you can't understand the word "facetious" not sure how you can respond to the post. Don't worry, regardless of whomever defends los Hernandez, they are dead meat.
ReplyDelete"regardless of whomever defends los Hernandez, they are dead meat"
ReplyDeletefinally admits the truth