Mira Nomas: Jim & Nena with Pat Ahumada, Maria Luisa Hernandez and USPS Retiree Richard

Maybe this is not the picture you expected to see:  Pat Ahumada and his lovely wife with Jim and Nena, our old friend, Maria Luisa Hernandez, and Richard, finally retired from the downtown post office.  The pleasant summer-like evening brought a diverse group to Rey Montanaro's perfectly groomed back yard, a sloping tract of St. Augustine grass ending at the resaca's edge.  
"What's the story on Casa del Nylon?" asked longtime downtown postal clerk, Richard.  

"It can't be explained logically," I answered.  "The building had been appraised at under $700,000, but Tony's law partner, Horacio Barrera, "negotiated" a sale for $2,300,000, giving Tony's friend, Abraham Galonsky, a windfall.  Barrera likely got a commission and Martinez, a kickback."

Retired USPS Clerk Richard

"I heard that the University of Texas needed the building," countered postal clerk Richard.

"No, Tony Martinez totally miscalculated.  UT doesn't need third tier downtown buildings for a campus.  They want state-of-the-art, and have the money to pay for it, if needed.  Casa del Nylon has been sitting for three years, now off the tax rolls, decaying, with no discernible use by the city.  The same could be said for a dozen or more other buildings purchased by the Tony Martinez-led City Commission. True to form, Tony Martinez has never explained why the buildings were needed or how they would be utilized."

Cutting the perfectly grilled brisket with a plastic fork and knife, an attorney who owns several properties downtown, said he found it difficult to find any method to Tony Martinez' madness:  "I don't know what they're trying to do, really.  It's ridiculous to think that the University of Texas, with its billions in P.U.F. monies needs one of our city parks.  They could write a check for the City of Brownsville and not blink."

Meanwhile, Ahumada worked the tables with his wife, posing for pictures.  His remarks to the group are preserved in a video below this article.  Nena's video suffers from the dimming post sunset light, as well as a street light behind Pat, but you get the gist of his message.