State Rep. Kino Flores indicted
PALMVIEW — State Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores insisted Friday that he did not intentionally mislead a state agency when he failed to disclose more than $847,000 in personal assets over a period of six years.
His statement came hours after a Travis County grand jury indicted the Palmview Democrat on 16 counts of tampering with government records and three counts of perjury, alleging he hid sources of income, real estate holdings and gifts from the Texas Ethics Commission.
The criminal charges are the result of an eight-month investigation that dredged through years of Flores’ past and tied his financial transactions to a slew of businesses and individuals seeking his influence in the legislative process.
“At no point during my public service have I intentionally or knowingly violated any state law or rule,” he said in a written statement. “Throughout this entire investigation, I have been cooperative and have disclosed any evidence required of me.”
Flores’ Austin-based attorney — Roy Q. Minton — went further, calling Friday’s indictments flimsy and saying his client intends to fight them in court.
“We have failure to report income on financial statements every single day around here, and nobody else gets indicted,” he said. “That is weak, weak, weak.”
UNREPORTED INCOME
The Texas Ethics Commission requires state lawmakers to file annual reports that document where they earn their income, the gifts they receive, and the property and major assets they own.
But for years, Flores’ filings were incomplete, the set of six indictments alleges.
A Monitor investigation last year showed that 14 sections of his February 2008 form — which covered activity in fiscal year 2007 — were never submitted.
In addition, he omitted income and retainer fees he received from companies such as Houston-based Dannenbaum Construction, McAllen Medical Center and InterNational Bank from his disclosure filings going back as far as 2003, according to the indictments.
The representative has previously said he earns his living as a management consultant, but state law does not require him to list his clients by name on his financial reports — only the total income he receives.
The loophole has previously drawn the attention of critics who questioned Flores’ ongoing relationship with companies like D. Wilson Construction, a McAllen-based firm also mentioned in Friday’s indictments that has received state contracts to build a birding center and a veterans cemetery.
Flores has previously said he does not believe his contract with that company or any of his other consulting positions pose a conflict of interest.
LAND DEALS
The grand jury also took issue with properties Flores owned but failed to report, including a downtown Austin penthouse condominium, a lot and a 6-acre ranch in Hidalgo County and a lease on a coastal fishing cabin in the Laguna Madre.
The lawmaker purchased the coastal property in May 2008 from Joseph LaMantia III, a campaign contributor whose family had pending business before the Legislature.
At the time the lease changed hands, the LaMantias — owners of the McAllen-based Anheuser-Bush affiliate L&F Distributors — were seeking state approval to build a $23 million race track in Hidalgo County.
As the then chairman of the House committee with jurisdiction over the Texas Racing Commission, Flores had been a strong advocate for the proposed gaming site, which was expected to generate millions of dollars for the family.
Prized among local fishing enthusiasts, the cabin leases often sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The LaMantias transferred their lease to Flores for $35,000.
“I saw an ad in the newspaper for this cabin,” the lawmaker said in December. “I bid on it, and I happened to have the highest bid.”
Another property mentioned in the indictments has also drawn previous scrutiny. In September, an illegal immigrant employed by the legislator as a ranch hand turned up dead on his 6-acre tract outside of Mission.
Flores was never suspected in the slaying, but a resulting lawsuit revealed he had purchased the plot from two convicted drug traffickers.
The legislator was also charged Friday with failing to report gifts such as a 2007 trip on a plane owned by the LaMantia family and an interest in a racehorse given to his son, Ismael Jr., by an Austin lobbyist.
Flores’ son also received undisclosed income from the Austin lobbying firm HillCo Partners in 2005 and 2006, according to court documents.
TOUGH YEAR
Friday’s indictments come after months of setbacks for the lawmaker.
In addition to the slaying on his ranch and the revelation of his cabin deal, Flores lost much of his power in the Legislature after the ousting of longtime House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, in January.
As one of the few Democrats to throw his support behind the autocratic and divisive leader, Flores had enjoyed a plum seat at the table in the Republican-controlled House with appointments such as the chairmanship of the Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee during the 2007 legislative session.
His downgrade in stature this year appeared to frustrate the 12-year incumbent, who accused the new House leadership of punishing him for his previous Craddick loyalty. His aggressive hectoring later in the session peeved many of his colleagues and prompted Texas Monthly to name him one of the state’s 10 worst legislators as he fought to bring a bill granting property tax concessions to disabled veterans to the floor.
“Would I do it again?” Flores said at the time. “Absolutely. Would I get in your face to fight for veterans? Of course, I'll do it again.”
REPORTING LOOPHOLE
This is not the first time Flores has found himself in an Austin grand jury’s crosshairs.
In 2006, Travis County prosecutors attempted to prove that payments Flores received from the owner of a Rio Grande Valley children’s clinic were direct compensation for his legislative efforts to shield the border region from Medicaid changes that would have negatively impacted the man’s bottom line.
No indictment was ever handed down in that case.
The clinic owner refused to testify at the time, his attorney told The Monitor last year. And grand jurors were so frustrated by a legal loophole that allowed lawmakers working as consultants to hide their client list that they issued a memo to the presiding judge at the end of their term.
“There was obvious misconduct on the part of the public official,” they wrote in their note. “But due to information given by the (Texas Ethics Commission) the public official was able to ‘hide’ his income.”
Flores first hired Minton in 2005 to represent him in that probe.
The Austin attorney declined to say Friday whether he thought the repeated investigations constituted a politically motivated vendetta but maintained the six indictments didn’t amount to much.
Flores, whose District 36 stretches from parts of Pharr to Peñitas, is expected to turn himself in to authorities in Austin as soon as Monday, Minton said.
If convicted on all counts, he could face up to two years in a state jail and thousands of dollars in fines.
“I can assure you that I will fight as hard as I do for (my district) to clear my name,” Flores said. “My family and I ask for your thoughts and prayers during this tumultuous time.”
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Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.
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Among the employers Flores is accused of omitting:
In 2008:
>> city of McAllen
>> Rio Grande Steel
>> D. Wilson Construction
>> Gignac and Associates
>> S&B Infrastructure
In 2007:
>> City of McAllen
>> Rio Grande Steel
>> D. Wilson Construction
>> Gignac and Associates
>> S&B Infrastructure
>> UHS of Delaware Inc./McAllen Hospital/McAllen Medical Center
In 2006:
>> Broaddus and Associates
>> City of McAllen
>> Rio Grande Steel
>> D. Wilson Construction
>> Gignac and Associates
>> Health Systems Resources Inc.
>> UHS of Delaware Inc/McAllen Hospital/McAllen Medical Center
In 2005
>> City of McAllen
>> Rio Grande Steel
>> D. WIlson Construction
>> UHS of Delaware Inc/McAllen Hospital/McAllen Medical Center
In 2004:
>> Dannenbaum Engineering
>> Hidalgo County Abstract and Title Co.
>> Rhodes Enterprises Inc.
>> Renegade Enterprises of South Texas Inc.
>> UHS of Delaware Inc./McAllen Hospital/McAllen Medical Center
In 2003:
>> Dannenbaum Engineering
>> Marathon Oil
>> Care Rehab Services
>> Hidalgo County Abstract and Title Co.
>> Rio Grande Outfitters
>> Renegade Enterprises of South Texas Inc.
>> Spillar Investments
>> InterNational Bank
>> Rio Grande Steel
Among the property Flores is accused of omitting:
In 2008:
>> Blue Star No. 2 Lot 32 in Hidalgo County
In 2007:
>> North 5 and 6 acres of the South 18.94 acres, Lot 54-5, West Addition Sharyland, Hidalgo County
>> Cabin #1517, Intercoastal Waterway, Cameron County
>> Blue Star No. 2, Lot 32, Hidalgo County
In 2006:
>> 400 W. Champion Lane, Mission
>> Cabin No. 1517, Intercoastal Waterway, Cameron County
>> Blue Star No. 2, Lot 32, Hidalgo County
In 2005:
>> 1212 Guadalupe No. 204 (penthouse condominium), Austin
>> Blue Star No. 2 Lot 32, Hidalgo County
In 2004:
>> 1212 Guadalupe No. 204 (penthouse condominium), Austin
>> 400 W. Champion, Mission
>> 133 Colorado Drive, Cedar Creek, Bastrop County
>> 2301 Pebble Beach, Onion Creek Subdivision, Austin
>> Blue Star No. 2 Lot 32, Hidalgo County
In 2003:
>> 1212 Guadalupe No. 204 (penthouse condominum), Austin
>> 400 W. Champion, Mission
>> Blue Star No. 2, Lot 32, Hidalgo County
>> 2301 Pebble Beach, Onion Creek Subdivision, Austin
Flores is also accused of omitting gifts he received and financial interests of his dependent son Ismael Jr., including:
In '07:
>> a Feb. 13 ride the legislator took on a private plane owned by Greg LaMantia of L&F Distributors
In '05-'06:
>> income Ismael Jr. received from the Austin lobbying firm HillCo Partners
In '04:
>> an interest in a race horse Ismael Jr. received from a lobbyist
