Kino convicted, another reason the 956 is a JOKE

Texas Observer 10/27/10
Kino Flores and Patron Politics

(snip)
Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg was in the courtroom as the jury announced their verdict. Lehmberg said she thought the verdict would reverberate with other elected officials. “This is very significant,” she said. “This is the public saying to elected officials that they expect them to maintain the highest ethical standards with accurate and full public disclosures. It’s not an acceptable excuse to say they “didn’t know” or the form was “too hard.’”

One of Flores’ chief arguments was that he was a paid consultant and that it wasn’t necessary to list who he consulted for on the financial statements. Some of these companies included the Houston-based Dannenbaum Construction, McAllen Medical Center and InterNational Bank. Many had business before the powerful Licensing and Administrative Procedures committee where he served as chair.

Flores will report to the Travis County courthouse on November 22 for a pre-sentencing trial. He chose to have the judge exact his punishment rather than a jury. This was probably the right choice, judging from juror Vickie Curry’s comments after the trial.

“The people of Texas need to hold their elected officials accountable,” said the 52-year old bus driver outside the courtroom. “He filed his W2 forms. He sure didn’t mess with the federal government and the IRS,” she says. “He shouldn’t think the people of Texas who elected him are any different.”