State rep's land deals probed
Smoke continues to billow from an ongoing criminal investigation into state Rep. Ismael "Kino" Flores, but prosecutors remain mum about the possibility of fire.
The Travis County district attorney's office has widened its probe to include the legislator's land dealings, including the purchase of a six-acre ranch north of Alton, Flores' attorney Roy Q. Minton said Thursday.
Minton previously stated that trips the lawmaker took on a campaign contributor's private plane had drawn the scrutiny of Austin prosecutors.
But Gregg Cox - head of the district attorney's public integrity unit - has repeatedly refused to discuss the details of his case. He did not return calls for comment Thursday.
"There's a piece of land down there that they're interested in," Minton said. "They're looking into how he acquired it."
Minton did not know why investigators were looking at his client's land purchases and said Flores denies any wrongdoing.
Flores, D-Palmview, acquired the tract in 2005 from brothers Joel and Roel Benavides, of Sullivan City, three and a half years before it became the crime scene for another investigation.
In September, an illegal immigrant ranch hand employed by the legislator allegedly killed another Mexican national on the property.
Flores was never suspected of any involvement in the slaying but admitted to hiring the lead suspect - who had no legal status to work in the country.
This fall, Cox's office requested documents connected to the slaying, including affidavits from Flores' family members that discuss ownership of the ranch, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said.
Travis County prosecutors have also reached out to both Benavides brothers, Minton said. Neither could be reached for comment Thursday.
Reports of the ongoing investigation first leaked out last month, when Minton reported subpoenas had been issued requesting Flores' travel records.
At the time, Minton suspected prosecutors were looking into three trips Flores took on a private plane owned by the LaMantia family, which owns McAllen-based Anheuser-Busch affiliate L&F Distributors LLC and is a major investor in a planned Hidalgo County horse-racing track.
The representative helped secure licensing for the gaming site last year.
State law prohibits lawmakers from accepting gifts of free or discounted travel without declaring it on financial disclosure forms. But Flores maintained that he reimbursed the family at fair-market value for each of the trips.
"We've been totally cooperative with everything they've asked for," Minton said Thursday. "I've even offered to bring (Flores) in to answer their questions. But so far they've declined."
Flores, an 11-year incumbent, was re-elected to a seventh term in November.
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Monitor staff writer Ryan Holeywell contributed to this report.
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Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.
