INDEX
Mission Updates
A lot is happening in Mission this week. See our updates on the most recent city council meeting, concerns regarding a storage facility on Conway and more details on Starr County SCU executing a search warrant at a Mission law firm.
See Pg. 5
Entertainment....pg. 2
Local Business Spotlight
Lifestyle...................pg. 3
Jose De Leon III highlights the Family Health Center of Mission and what they provide for the community. See our story for more on how the clinic got started in the city 25 years ago, inside.
Sports.......................pg. 7
See Pg. 8
Death Notices......pg. 9 Classifieds.............pg.11
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Progress times Vol. 47 - #35
Friday, April 26, 2019
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Edinburg mayor surrenders to investigators on voter fraud charges By Dave Hendricks Edinburg Mayor Richard Molina surrendered to investigators Thursday to face voter fraud charges. Ricardo “Richard” Molina, 41, of Edinburg and his wife, Dalia Molina, 42, of Edinburg, surrendered Thursday morning at the Texas Department of Public Safety building near the intersection of U.S. 281 and Davis Road. “My client and his wife are victims of a power struggle,” said attorney Carlos A. Garcia of Mission, who represents Richard Molina. “We intend to fight these charges, and both of them are absolutely innocent of what the state alleges.” Dalia Molina is charged with illegal voting, a secProgress Times photo by Dave Hendricks
Richard Molina appears in court Thursday for charges filed against him.
Mission to put local artistic work on display for first arts festival By Jamie Treviño Ariel King is trying to give mom and pop shops in Mission some more attention while simultaneously highlighting deserving artists that have gone unrecognized. Tomorrow, April 27, the first Mission Arts Festival will be happening at various locations throughout Mission all day. The event will feature art of all mediums at various hotspots in the city, including The Historic William Jennings Bryan House, Upper Valley Art League, Black Iris, 5x5 Brewing Co., The Tea Room, Hands in Art Studio, the Speer Memorial Library and the Historic Border Theater. King, the owner of The Bryan House, said the event was put together to showcase noteworthy places in Mission that residents and visitors often overlook because of the lack of awareness of their existence. “I think that a lot of people have a misconception that there’s not an interest with younger generations,” King said. “That’s not the case, I think there is an interest, but the younger generations want activities. It needs to be interesting.” Attendees in the festival will have the chance to try food from local restaurants, see a couple of documentaries made in the Valley, attend a book signing and
appreciate art of all kinds (paintings, live music, blown glass, pottery, dance and photography) at 17 different locations in Mission. “Once a year, let’s celebrate and highlight the different organizations and businesses that support the local arts,” King said. “Let’s highlight the positive things in our city and the business owners that have been here for years and years and deserve some attention.” King said she hopes that with the arts festival, the public will see these regional spots in a new way. “We want to give them some foot traffic and share what makes them unique,” King said. “I wanted to cover all the different forms of art - visual, performance, tactile, culinary, and that way we can see it grow and foster something beautiful.” The arts festival will also be good for tourism in Mission, according to King, and provides a platform for artists trying to get their names out there. “We have a lot of really notable artists that live here in Mission,” King said. “This is a way for artists in the area to reach a different demographic and a different community.” “I hope it cultivates an awareness that we do have something to be very proud of, we have a lot of talent here,” King added. “I hope it inspires others to look
around and see what’s really positive about our city.” The Bryan House will be hosting a mermaid festival (For the Heart of the Ocean) from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow. Adult admission is $5, and children is $3. It will feature vendors, art, food, entertainment, a mermaid crown-making section and costume contests for adults and children. “I want this to be whimsical and fun, and I don’t want us to forget that festivals are supposed to be free-spirited so we can have a good time and think outside of the box,” King said. “It’s a small place, but we’re going to have a lot going on, it’ll be concentrated and it will be interesting.” The Mission Arts Festival also aims to show people areas of the city that have otherwise been overlooked due to location. “I think we have a false notion that once you go west of maybe Bryan [Rd.] there’s nothing going on, and we want to correct that,” King said. “There’s interesting, inspiring activities and people all over the city.” King hopes that next year, even more businesses and artists join in and participate in the festival. For a schedule and full list of activities during the Mission Arts Festival, see their event page on Facebook.
projects, flagged the transactions last year, concerned the city had spent utility revenue on non-utility expenses. “Transfers out of the utility fund are not acceptable,” said Carleton S. Wilkes, team lead for the Financial Compliance Division of the water development board. “They’re a prohibited transaction.” Wilkes and another water development board administrator sent a letter to Mission about the situation on Nov. 30, 2018. The state provided Mission with nearly $25 million through the Economically Distressed Areas Program — what the water development
board calls “EDAP” — for local utility projects. “As a result of the review and because the City has used EDAP funds to construct all or part of your wastewater system, staff has concluded that the City is noncompliant with Section 16.356 of the Texas Water Code (TWC),” according to the Nov. 30 letter, which cited an agreement between the city and the water development board. The Texas Water Code prohibits Mission from using “any revenue received from fees collected from a water supply or sewer service constructed in whole or in part
Texas Water Development Board warns Mission about utility fund transfers By Dave Hendricks
The city of Mission improperly transferred millions from the utility fund to the general fund during the past decade, prompting scrutiny from the Texas Water Development Board. Mission transferred more than $30 million from the utility fund, which is dedicated to providing water and sewer service, to the general fund, a catch-all account that supports a wide array of government services, from Oct. 1, 2008, to Sept. 30, 2018, according to city records. The water development board, which provided Mission with money for utility
See MISSION UTILITY Pg. 4
ond-degree felony. Richard Molina is charged with two counts of illegal voting and one count of engaging in organized election fraud activity. The criminal complaint against Molina summarizes interviews with seven people. “Affiant interviewed a cooperating co-conspirator witness, hereinafter referred to as CCW7, who stated that during a conversation between CCW7 and Defendant Richard Molina, Defendant told CCW7 that Defendant, Richard Molina, was going to use a strategy of changing people’s voter registration addresses to addresses located inside the city limits of Edinburg, Texas at residences where people did not actually reside in an effort
to increase the number of voters who could vote for Richard Molina and to win elections,” according to the criminal complaint. Investigators with the Texas Attorney General’s Office and the Texas Rangers handled the case. Among the charges against Richard Molina is “engaging in organized election fraud activity,” a new criminal offense created by the Texas Legislature in 2017. “A person commits an offense if, with the intent to establish, maintain, or participate in a vote harvesting organization, the person commits or conspires to commit one or more offenses,” according to the Texas
See VOTER FRAUD Pg. 8
Former Palmview police officer admits guilt in assault case By Dave Hendricks A former Palmview police officer accused of assaulting his girlfriend and threatening her with a gun admitted guilt last week. Faced with a misdemeanor assault charge, former police Officer Edward Oscar Aleman Cervantez agreed to participate in a pretrial diversion program. If he successfully completes the program, prosecutors will dismiss the case. “I knowingly and voluntarily am making an admission of guilt on the record under oath before the court as part of my placement on the pre-trial diversion program,” according to documents Cervantez signed on April 17. “I fully understand that my admission of guilt will be used against me if I am terminated or removed for failure to comply with, or otherwise fail to successfully complete the pre-trial program.” Attorney Jaime Roel Garcia of Pharr, who represents Cervantez, declined to comment. Officers arrested him on
Edward Oscar Aleman Cervantez (Photo courtesy of the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office)
May 21, 2017, after an argument between Cervantez and his girlfriend turned violent. Cervantez grabbed her by the hair and smashed her head against a concrete wall, according to the police report, which recounts what his girlfriend told investigators. When she recovered, Cervantez pushed her against a car. After the altercation, she took a shower. “Edward Cervantez walked inside the bathroom displaying a handgun,” according to the police report,
which notes the model and serial number of the weapon, “and pointed it at her while he was racking the slide back and forth.” The woman told police Cervantez’s behavior scared her. “Edward Cervantez was shouting at her ‘Come on, shoot me!’ and threw the handgun toward her direction but did not hit her with it,” according to the police report. Officers charged Cervantez with assault causing bodily injury-family violence, a Class A misdemeanor. Palmview fired Cervantez after conducting an internal investigation. “The City of Palmview alongside the Palmview Police Department will not tolerate employees who fail to uphold the values and duties that are required of our police officers,” according to a statement released by the city. “We continue to be committed to protecting our residents and can guarantee these matters are not taken lightly!”
GPS records cast doubt on Agua SUD board member’s story about meeting his mother-in-law at game room By Dave Hendricks On the way back from Eagle Pass, an Agua Special Utility District vehicle made four mysterious stops in Lopeño — a tiny town in Zapata County notorious for illegal gambling. The vehicle, which utility board Director Ivan Sandoval borrowed to attend a conference, parked at four locations in Lopeño on Feb. 27, according to GPS records the utility district released under the Texas Public Information Act. GPS records document four stops in Lopeño that day: A 3-minute stop. A 25-minute stop. A 43-minute stop. And a 50-minute stop. “I think we should look into it further,” said utility board President Esequiel “Zeke” Ortiz Jr. “Now that it’s been brought to our attention.”
Ivan Sandoval Questions about the trip surfaced in March, when someone posted a photo of the vehicle on AnonymousRGV.com with the caption: “Agua Sud Employees at a Slot Machine Game Room in Zapata During Working Hours.” Sandoval, who borrowed the utility district vehicle to attend a conference at the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino Hotel in Eagle Pass, said he stopped to meet his moth-
er-in-law on the way back. “She was taking care of my kids,” Sandoval said on March 4 during an interview with the Progress Times. “And I had to pick up the key for the house.” Sandoval met his motherin-law at the game room but said he didn’t play the slot machines. “Understand, I’ve gone and played there so many different times. Of course, with my vehicle, right? Now, you enter there, I mean, the phones don’t work. No service inside,” Sandoval said on March 4, adding that he couldn’t call his mother-in-law from the car. “So, of course, I have to get off. I have to find her. Look for her. So it’s going to take me a couple of minutes because there are so many different machines.”
See SANDOVAL Pg. 4