Bobby Wightman-Cervantes shares new revelations about BISD daily in his blog BROWNSVILLE VOICE. Bobby's sources reveal bid rigging, personnel moves based on pure spite, coverups, retaliation, incompetent legal advice, insurance fraud, trustee calabaza along with other school district indiscretions. The enticement of a $500,000,000 annual budget proves to be simply too much temptation for our amateurish BISD trustees, lily-livered superintendent and opportunistic Human Resources Director. Wightman-Cervantes may not always connect the dots logically, but he does locate the dots.
A frequent target of the BROWNSVILLE VOICE has been the corrupt Escobedo brothers, contractor-for-anything Jaime and his brother, BISD Board President fake Dr. Enrique. The Escobedo tandem have their tentacles in all types of deals with BISD and the City of Brownsville. While the VOICE may show some finagling to swing lucrative deals the Escobedo's way in BISD, the Brownsville City Commission has in years past simply rubberstamped huge contracts without competitive bidding for the Escobedos. Purchasing Director Robert C. Luna has introduced sole source surveillance contracts for the sports park, the multi-modal facility and other city buildings, designating Jaime Escobedo's company American Surveillance as a sole source. The rationale given for giving these exclusive contracts was to maintain the same software, yet, Esobedo does not manufacture software, just purchases it as any other contractor would do.
In recent months Commissioners Zamora, Vasquez and Tetreau have questioned these purchasing presentations by Robert C. Luna. Several contract requests by the mealy-mouthed Luna have been tabled as his responses under questioning have been less than forthcoming. He has misrepresented how bids are solicited, the number of qualified contractors contacted and from one meeting to the next, even changed the number of approved contractors. Red flags are everywhere!
Oddly, blogger Juan Montoya of El Rrun Rrun has written two recent articles accusing these city commissioners of "micromanaging" the purchasing department. He wants such contractual matters and their development to stay under the exclusive purview of City Manager Charlie Cabler. Of course, it is on Charlie Cabler's watch that these lucrative surveillance contracts slipped through without competitive bidding as well as allegedly $400,000 in overcharges to the city by a Matamoros dentist we named in an earlier article.
montoya's articles make no rationale sense and really sap any credibility he may have. I wonder which of the escobedo brothers gave him a handout to help him pay his child support this month.
ReplyDeleteNo public official in Brownsville will ever have chapped hands because there is so much grease passing under the tables. Contracting is a game....trying to get the person willing to grease your palm to win the bid. It is all a part of the history of corruption in Cameron County governments. Perhaps Dr. Tony Knopp would have a best seller if he chronicles the history of corruption here. Anthro-polygamist Tony Zavaleta says corruption is part of the culture of Mexico and we should accept it. We seem to dismiss corruption......why??? Is it ignorance??? Bidders on various projects always hedge their bid with under the table pay-offs. Has no one seen that after many years of this practice. Is that just business as usual here?
ReplyDeleteI take Brownsville Voice as credible over the others because he does his research and does'nt mince words. HE WILL NOT TAKE MONEY TO MAKE ANYONE LOOK GOOD! Taking money and being biased makes the reporting null and void for me. Like taking calabazas for gain and power.
ReplyDeleteCorruption is NOT part of our culture. It is in the mind of Dr.Z. and the evil doers who take advantage because the rest of us are too busy trying to make a living.
BV AND BWC ARE PURO PEDO.
DeleteRESIGN ESCOBEDO RESIGN
ReplyDeleteI been telling you all along since Nov 8, 2011, but .....
ReplyDeleteU HAVE BEEN TELLING WHAT IS CONBINIENT.
DeleteNow, can you believe me??? Thanks Jim and Nena por your tireless efforts to bring these $4 corrupt Board Members to justice. GBU!!
ReplyDeleteHaving Melissa Zamora investigate fraud is like putting the fox in the hen house. She has used her position to interfer with the police in an accident involving State Rep. Rene Oliviera....she lacks the ethics to investigate anything. Melissa used to talk about "transparency" in government.....until she was elected and now she is part of the "smoke and mirrors" in government. And, the Herald has hidden the accident of Rene Oliviera....an uninsured car owned by Oliviera; a girlfriend left holding his bag and victims who apparently have had a tough time getting a lawyer with a pair to take on Oliviera in court. When the going gets tough in this town, the lawyers sing soprano and leave a trail of mouse droppings. When the newspaper refuses to take on local politicians, and city commissioners protect local politicians who have screwed up...there can be no real justice and it is hypocritical for Melissa to investigate other people's ethics when she has demonstrated that she has none.
ReplyDeleteBWC has some good information but he doesn't undestand the way a school district works so he make up his own tales. Most of what he has is correct but he spins it also which is too bad. Could be a much better source if he would find out the workings of a correct school board.
ReplyDeleteI believe BWC and Jim Barton are equally good in connecting the dots...problem is we, the citizens, some of whom are teachers who unfortunatelly have to work under this administration, are NOT willing to speak up and take our beloved School District back. If we did, we won't be in such predicament.
ReplyDeleteYOU CAN CONTACT GEORGE BORREGO HE JUST TRIPPLED YOUR FEES FROM 14.DLRS TO 50.DLRS AND THAT IS JUST FOR STARTERS.
DeleteGEORGE BORREGO, PATRICK HAMES AND SELECTED FEW FROM AOBE GET MONTHLY MONEY INCENTIVES RANGING FROM 900.+ TO 1,400.+ THAT IS NOT INCLUDING THE CAR ALLOWANCE, MAYBE SOME CARD ALLOWANCE AND OTHER MONETARIES BENEFITS.
The Escobedo brothers along with the current $4 BISD majority, CAN AND WILL continue to enrich themselves while destroying our children's education.
ReplyDeleteCan you please contact me... i have several questions i would like to ask you.
ReplyDeleteAlba
my email is aadame@bobbygarcia.com
ReplyDeletervpark645@hotmail.com
ReplyDelete