The Battalion
AMPUS
Case involving raid on
Laredo officials left with
questions unanswered
LAREDO (AP) — More than a
month after federal agents raided the
Webb County district attorney's of
fice and hauled away thousands of
files in a moving truck, much of the
case still is a mystery.
Starting on Friday, May 29, feder
al agents executed
search warrants on
the homes and of
fices of 14 Laredo
officials and others,
including District
Attorney Joe Rubio,
bail bondsman Jesse
Castaneda and for
mer state district
judge Ruben Gar
cia. The home of
Rubio's father also
was searched.
Garcia pleaded
guilty Tuesday to
taking bribes for fix
ing court cases in
connection with the
federal probe. — —
But the 73-page affidavit used as
the basis for issuing the search war
rants remains sealed at prosecutors'
request, and federal officials are
saying little.
"There are ethical and legal con
straints that keep me from comment
ing on an ongoing criminal investi
gation," Assistant U.S. Attorney Don
DeGabrielle, the lead prosecutor in
the case, said. He has said the affi
davit includes details about confi
dential sources, taped telephone con
versations and witnesses who are
cooperating with the government.
Rubio said he hopes for a rapid
end to the probe investigating what
happened to criminal charges against
128 people over the nine years he has
been in office.
"I just hope that the investigation
they're conducting is done as quick
ly as they possibly can, while pro
tecting the rights of everyone in
volved," Rubio said.
DeGabrielle was making no
promises.
"It's difficult to say how long this
investigation will take," he said.
Castaneda, the bail bondsman,
told the San Antonio Express-News
that not only were his home and of
fice searched, but he was ques
tioned for hours in San Antonio by
There are
ethical and legal
constraints that keep
me from commenting
on an ongoing
criminal investigation.”
— Don DeGabrielle
assistant U.S. attorney
federal agents. Castaneda said
agents had been on the case for
three years and had bugged his
house, office and bedroom.
Some light was shed on the case
when one of its targets admitted
wrongdoing. Garcia, the former
judge, pleaded guilty to conspiring
with an unnamed
assistant district at
torney and others to
fix the outcome of
his clients' criminal
cases in exchange
for bribes.
Rubio, mean
while, is criticizing
the way the raid
was handled.
He said carting
5,000 files from his
office in moving
trucks was unnec
essary because fed
eral agencies al
ways have been
allowed to make
copies of whatever they needed.
"A lot of this information was
readily available to federal agencies
upon request," Rubio said. "I don't
think that the far-reaching warrant
was necessary and the fact that it was
carried out in a sensationalized man
ner was not necessary either."
But DeGabrielle said it is standard
procedure to take files, make copies
and return them as soon as possible.
"The search warrant was executed
over a weekend to provide a minimum
of disruption for the office," he said.
Theories about the probe have
run rampant since the raids. Some
speculate that it is retaliation for Ru
bio's decision last October to stop
prosecuting minor drug cases for the
federal government.
Rubio said he stopped the long
standing practice of handling feder
al drug cases involving amounts un
der 50 kilos because his office was
handling about 750 cases a year to
the tune of $1 million. He said the
federal government would not pay
incarceration costs.
"There's a lot of feathers that
were ruffled in the U.S. attorney's
office," Rubio said, although he
added that he could not speculate if
that incident has anything to do
with the federal investigation.
Southern Blacklands zone considered for
cotton producer's problems with boll weevils
HOUSTON (AP) —
Cotton producers in a 65-
county swath across much
of east and central Texas
have through today to
comment to the Texas De
partment of Agriculture
on whether to create a
Southern Blacklands zone
in the state's boll weevil
eradication program.
A proposal before the
TDA would simply create a
zone, but would not install
an eradication program,
which requires a vote of
producers in the region.
Growers in the regions
roughly surrounding Abi
lene and San Angelo al
ready have approved orga
nized insect control
programs aimed at the cot
ton-destroying pests.
Growers in a region
stretching from Lubbock to
Midland rejected it last year.
Farmers and landown
ers in counties that have
the program pay a per-
acre assessment to fund it.
The referenda were es
tablished by a law passed
last year that corrected a
constitutional problem
found by the Texas
Supreme Court with the
previous statewide boll wee
vil eradication program.
L.US
CRAFT CLASSES BEGINNING SOON!!
STAINED GLASS I
Sect B • Wednesdays • July 8, 15, 22, 29, Aug 5 • 6-9 p.m.
$30 for students/$35 for non students
MATTING & FRAMING
Sect B • Thursdays • July 23, 30, Aug 6, 13 • 7:30-9:30 p.m.
$38 for students/$43 for non students
WOODWORKING
Sect B • Wednesdays • July 15, 22, 29, Aug 5 • 7:30-9:30 p.m.
$55 for students/$60 for non students
Did you know there is a
Frame Gallery for retail
framing in the MSC?
There is a fully equipped
woodshop as well as a
stained glass shop where you
can have fun.
Call 845-1631 today as thse
classes have limited space.
Skrgfeh
Monday • July 6,
By Quat
"ANY REASON WHY THE NEW FOOTBALL PRACTlCf-V
FlELp LOOKS LIKE A PRISON CAMP 7 . /
SEEMED RATHER FITTING
CONSIDERING THE TEAM.
The Greys
By Gab
M
ou0og/i DON'T T ■"
GETTING ABDJcTEb SV A
ALIEN 1 “W 15 EYcmNOl
I HAVE ALL Your. Toys Awd
POSTERS. CAN YOU SjQrfJ
CoAMC ^OOKS
HIES
UA\T, LET WE G-ET AY OIU
To KUNGOU DICTIONARY,
/Xodtj in Aqqieland
Bq Stepl
about bbis ro&nntabe
p/a/\. I'm -tired of
freaks asic/ aeeks iVant/nj
fo (We Here/
M.-, o*
...1^,1 .1..; i
.A*
invl
id's I
afciell
Kal
- bs'
Texas tornado brings Fourth of July celebration to a
ROUND ROCK, Texas (AP) — A twister
that forced Central Texans at a july Fourth
barbecue to take cover has injured some
horses and damaged buildings.
Workers at the Forrest Creek Stables
near Round Rock and more than two
dozen friends at the barbecue wit
nessed the twister's descent from the
clouds Saturday.
"We screamed tornado and we ran,"
B.j. Slover, who runs the ranch, told
Austin television station KTBC.
The tornado peeled off the stable's
roof and overturned trailers. Some hors
es were hurt by flying debris.
Residents who took shelter in at
room were uninjured.
"We all got in the tub and kidsb v
crying," Carol Wallen, anotherwro
said. "And we ran out and saw the
flying in circles."
MS
PHOTOGRAPHY CLASSES
Continue July 7
BLACK & WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY II
Tuesdays • July 7, 14, 21, 28 • 7-9 p.m.
ADVANCED BLACK & WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY
Thursdays • July 9, 16, 23, 30 • 7-9 p.m.
$50 for students/$55 for non students for all B&W classes
35 MM PHOTOGRAPHY II
Mondays • July 6, 13, 20, 27 • 6:30-8:30 p.m.
$35 for students/$40 for non students
Do you know about the photo darkrooms in the MSC?
Call 845-1631 TODAY! The classes have limited space!!
The Battalion
James Francis, Editor in Chief
Mandy Cater, Managing Editor April Towery, Opinion Editor
Quatro Oakley, Graphics Editor/Visual
Arts Director
Chris Martin, Aggielife Editor
Rod Machen, City Editor
Jeff Webb, Sports Editor
Ryan Rogers, Photo Editor
Brandon Bollom, Photo Editor
Laura Stuart, Radio Producer
Anita Tong, Web Editor
Kasie Byers, Night News Editor
Staff Members
£iIL- Sarah Goldston, Shatera Kennedy, Photo - Matthew Crawley, Stepha^
Corley, Mike Fuentes & Jake ScbiJ 1 '
Graphics - Brad Graeber, Stephen
Timothy Kang & Chad Mallaie.
Cartoonists - Gabriel Ruenes & e
Eskenasy
Copy Editors - Phillip Peter, Verona
Serrano & Jennifer Jones. ^
Clerks - Monica Flores, Susan 1
Acevedo &Kasie Byers
Patrick Peabody.
Seoriii Jeff Schmidt, Katie Mish, Grant
Hawkins, Tom Kennedy & Robert Hollier.
^ IELI|:E : Assitant: Travis Irby; Marium
Mohuiddin, Gray Whitten, Manisha Parekh
& Natalie Cobb.
OmioNj; Assitant: Michelle Voss; John
Lemons, Alison Lackey, Meredith Might,
Nathan Boucher, Rich Paddack, Joe
Schumacher, Chris Huffines, Steven
Gyeszly, Jeremy Valdez & ten Callaway.
Sl B « on neWS deparlJllent is mana ® d b * stu^nts at Texas A&M Universrty in the Division of Student PuWjJ
hattOni/t ° a 0lir !f liSm ' NeWS ° ffices are in 013 Reetl MoDonaM Building. Newsroom phone: 845-3313,
batt@unix.tamu.edu; Website: http://battalion.tamu.edu
ot attver tising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Battalion. For campus, local, 3nd ^
M t F ° r C aSSified advertisin ^ e 311845 -° 569 ' Adver tising offices are in 015 Reed McDonald, and office houis
Monday through Fnday. Fax: 845-2678.
^ StUdent Services Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pick up a single copy offhe Batt*
card call 845 2611 ^ SUbsCdptions are per 50,1001 year, $30 for the fall or spring semester and $17.50 for the sum
ine #1055 4726 ) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Mond ^^
7? g 840 Prm SeS ^° n iT Pt University tlolidays and exam Peaods) at Texas A&M University. Second class postage parijt
^^^^^ddre^changesto The Battalion, 015 Reed McDonald Building, Texas A&M Univeisfy Eo Wffi^^ < i
Radio - Kelly Blue, Eli Chavez
Web - Assitant: George Elrod.
W
Jcky
me, I
Th [
irillial
iemol
corinl
laved
hey'\
BeJ
vill aj
ack,
;amel
'beat!
He ofj
& Christ Hutto
" Bui
loner
U-l
tlose. I
: He le£
Stil
“tioug
bebetc
Jh.
Had. J
111 111 ®! Kluiv,