The Llano Ledger
Newsletter Text V54
This Website Is Full. Starting With The December 25, 2000 Newsletter,
All Future Editions Will Be Posted In The Llano Ledger 2, Found By
Clicking http://maxpages.com/llanoledger2.
Publisher's Note: This website is over 80% full. To conserve space the
Lawson Deposition is continued in the Llano Ledger 2 and can be found
by clicking http://maxpages.com/llanoledger2. T.C. August 18, 2000.
*************August 21, 2000****************
Look out. Ole' J.P. and the "Boys" are again after your wallet. Our
illustrious County Judge and his cronies on the Commissioners' Court
are proposing a 13.9% increase in tax revenues. Dodgen, Steuven,
Kinney, and Tucker are for the proposal. Faulkner was conveniently
absent. ... Little doubt, however, he wouldn't have gone along. After
all, County "leadership" walks in lock-step, -- screwing a gullible
citizenry every chance it gets. A public hearing is scheduled for
August 28 at 1:00PM.
The proposed County operating budget is $7,359,579. ... Wouldn't
want any leeches on the government teat to go hungry, would we? See the
proposed pay increases published recently for our dear County
officials? The "Judge" and his cronies on the Commissioners' Court,
after the charade of a public hearing, will indeed vote themselves
$1000 raises. They'll also "take care" of the 4 Justices of the Peace
similarly. "His Honor", the County "Judge", will receive $33,000
yearly. His pals on the Commissioners' Court $29,000. The Justices of
the Peace will draw the same.
Readers should clearly understand these "jobs" are indeed part-time and
include generous benefits, -- courtesy of looted taxpayers. The Sheriff
will receive a $1000 raise to $30,000 yearly. ... Government employment
is certainly one sector of the economy where incompetence and
dereliction of duty are well-rewarded. No? Apparently, the "Judge" and
the Commissioners' Court are still playing games with the Precinct 2
Constable position. The Constable will apparently receive $82, --
that's right $82, for the new fiscal year. Readers will recall an
earlier Newsletter devoted to the shafting of Pct2 Constable Bob Cowart
by the County Judge and Commissioners' Court in an effort to force the
resignation of a duly elected official.
Readers are reminded Precinct 2 is home to JP2 Lanny "The Cop"
Stephenson, the "Queen" of the Second Precinct. The proposed increase
for "Her Majesty's" expenses is $15,449. In contrast, JP1 is $3,583,
JP3 is $272. JP4 is indeed a decrease ($1,089). Interesting, isn't it?
The total expenses of "Her Majesty's" office amount to $101,557. The
"Queen" gets whatever the "Queen" wants. After all, the Second Precinct
is the cash cow for the County. Justice? What the hell's that? A full
listing of proposed pay increases is available at the County Clerk's
office.
Not to be outdone, LISD Superintendent of Schools Jack Patton will
loot taxpayers an additional $2 million for the new fiscal year,
bringing the budget up to an outrageous $17,704,903. This inept
governmental bureaucrat is disingenuously crowing about a two cent drop
in the tax rate. The drop in the rate, however, is due to an outrageous
increase in property appraisals. -- Most of you, in fact, will be
paying more as a result, despite the drop to $1.65/$100. Enjoy the
shaft. You've earned it. Your silence is indeed golden, -- to corrupt
and abusive bureaucrats.
Ever wonder what it might be like to be convicted of a crime you
did not commit? Unjustly incarcerated in the Texas Criminal Justice
System for 10 years? Roy Wayne Criner, 35, certainly does. Having lost
approximately one third of his life to an outrageously flawed system,
Criner was freed Tuesday morning, August 15.
Having been falsely accused and convicted of the rape of
16-year-old Deanna Oggs, Criner was exonerated due to DNA evidence
excluding his involvement in this horrific crime. Ogg had been beaten,
raped, and murdered. Her body was recovered in September 1986 in New
Caney approximately 20 miles from Houston.
Criner had originally been charged with murder. The charge,
however, was dropped due to a lack of evidence. An Aggravated Sexual
Assault charge was filed, however, and he was subsequently falsely
convicted and sentenced to 99 years in 1990. In 1992, the 9th Court of
Appeals in Beaumont threw out the conviction for insufficient evidence.
Criner was free for two years until the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
reversed the lower court and reinstated the conviction in 1994,
returning him to prison.
Interestingly, in 1997, DNA testing determined semen taken from Ms.
Ogg did NOT match Criner. Outrageously, the Court of Criminal Appeals,
however, did not throw out the conviction. Arrogantly inventing
scenarios of Criner's possible "involvement" in the crime, no action
was taken. Fascists on the Right should be appalled. After all, they
espouse "strict constructionist" interpretation of law and indeed
condemn judges for "legislating" from the bench. Yet, in this case they
were curiously and gutlessly silent.
Additional testing was done recently on a cigarette butt found at the
scene of the crime. DNA on the butt did NOT match Criner. It did
reveal, however, the cigarette had been smoked by both the victim and
the unknown assailant who raped her.
On Monday, August 14, the "outstanding" Texas Board of Pardons and
Paroles voted 18-0, recommending a pardon for Criner. Especially
noteworthy, however, since this Board is no more than a rubber stamp
for a thoroughly corrupt criminal justice system. The Governor, in his
magnanimity, signed the pardon Tuesday, August 15. Particularly
stunning as well, since the Governor has a well-established track
record of accepting and defending an outrageously corrupt court system.
More pointedly, can't confuse ole' George with the truth, can we?
This time, however, the Governor to his credit apparently temporarily
removed his head from a bodily orifice seldom seeing the light of day.
Go, George, go. Amazing how incontrovertible evidence can often but not
always elicit a flash of brilliance even from brain-dead officials,
isn't it?
All joking aside, when the hell will the people finally demand a
change in sovereign immunity statutes that protect and coddle corrupt
and abusive officials? When will rogue police officers and
"prosecutors" be held criminally responsible for false imprisonment of
innocent citizens? The same can be asked of corrupt "judges".
At the very least, why are victims of the criminal "justice" system
such as Roy Criner prevented from suing the State for false
incarceration? According to his attorney, Michael Charlton, Criner may
be able to collect $25,000 from a State fund established to pay those
falsely convicted. ... Mighty generous of the State, no?
Adding insult to injury, Criner was hauled into State District
Judge Mike Mayes' court for a final hearing cuffed and bound in chains.
Nothing quite like enlightened law enforcement and prison officials, is
there? After all, why miss one final opportunity to abuse an innocent
man?
The Judge put on quite a show, however. Disingenuously comparing
Criner to Washington and Lincoln, "His Honor" pompously proclaimed
"Undaunted men and women have triumphed over adversity." "Imprisoned
for 10 years for a crime he did not commit, we have Roy Wayne Criner,"
cackled the "Judge". In his infinite "wisdom" Mr. Mayes further
admonished the victim "refrain from anger and bitterness." ... Astute,
"Judge", damned insightful. -- Solomon would have been proud.
Clearly impressed with himself, the "Judge" further quoted the
Bible, Magna Carta, and other documents demonstrating to all the
"wisdom" of his years of experience. Undaunted, Mr. Mayes shamelessly
crowed "Your triumph this day is not so much shown in the freedom you
have earned, but by the character that you will reveal in the days to
come." Hey "Judge", wake up. Criner didn't "earn" his freedom, he had
it stripped by fascists in law enforcement and "prosecutors" hell-bent
to convict someone, anyone. -- Regardless of guilt or innocence.
Outrageously lost in the mix is the fact Ms. Oggs' assailant
remains at large. Who has, or will be, his next victim? The "Judge"
carefully warned those opposed to Criner's release not to take revenge.
He had already been allegedly threatened by members of the Ogg family
and had worn a bullet-resistant vest to court. The "Judge" also warned
Criner's family not to harbor "resentment" against his false
imprisonment. Hey "Judge", it wasn't your sorry ass locked up 10 years
for a crime you did not commit. Wake up. What planet do you live on,
sir? Most pointedly, why the hell aren't you leading the charge for
changes in sovereign immunity statutes so that this man, and others
like him, can at least be partially financially compensated for the
atrocity committed against them in the name of the people by the State?
(Sources for quotes and background: Associated Press, Dallas Morning
News, ABCNews.com.)
**********************************
Unknown until recently, there has indeed been intensive activity
going on behind the scenes between the General Services Commission and
Llano County officials in regard to an overcharge complaint filed
against Llano County Judge J.P. Dodgen by this publication. Consider
the following letter from the General Services Commission received
August 19, 2000:
General Services Commission
P.O. Box 13047
Austin, Tx. 78711-3047
August 15, 2000
Mr. Tim Chorney
Publisher
The Llano Ledger
Rt.2 Box 464A
Buchanan Dam, TX 78609
RE: OVERCHARGES COMPLAINT-LLANO COUNTY JUDGE
Dear Mr. Chorney:
Enclosed is my letter to Ms. Mabray, Llano County Attorney, as well
as a copy of the letter she sent me. If the charges are not adjusted,
let me know and I'll send you everything that I have in my files.
I apologize that the turnaround is so long, I am a one-person
section, and I am frequently out of town or in meetings. I will be
working on the LISD complaint early next week.
If you have any questions, or need further assistance, please feel
free to contact me at 512-475-2497, or at
hadassah.schloss@gsc.state.tx.us.
Sincerely,
Hadassah Schloss
Open Records Administrator
Enclosures
***********************************
The following e-mail was sent in response August 21, 2000:
Hadassah Schloss
Open Records Administrator
General Services Commission
P.O. Box 13047
Austin, Tx. 78711-3047
Re: August 15, 2000 Letter
Dear Ms. Schloss:
In response to your letter of August 15, 2000, thank you for taking
action on the June 6, 2000 overcharges complaint filed against Llano
County Judge J.P. Dodgen. I'm deeply grateful. Kindly be advised,
however, the original complaint was indeed snail-mailed, not e-mailed
as asserted in your letter of August 15, 2000 to the County Attorney.
Should you need a copy, I would be more than willing to provide one.
An e-mail will be sent shortly to the County Judge inquiring as to
whether or not the County will comply with General Services Commission
rules regarding copying charges. A copy of the message as well as his
response will be forwarded to you.
Regarding Ms. Mabray's letter to you of July 25, 2000, kindly be
advised the County Attorney as usual has distorted and misrepresented
facts germane to the complaint. Not bothering to confirm her "facts",
the County Attorney's "investigation" of the overcharge complaint is
sadly lacking. While graciously providing an 8-page copy of the May 22,
2000 Newsletter, she conveniently neglected to include a copy of the
earlier May 1, 2000 edition stating precisely what happened in the
Judge's office April 28, 2000.
Ms. Mabray claims: "On Tuesday, May 2, 2000, Mr. Chorney appeared
in the County Judge's office totally ignoring the Judge's letter of
April 25, 2000 which stated that he was to call to set up a time
agreeable for him to review the documents contained in the Judge's
office." This statement is blatantly false as well as disingenuous. My
visit occurred on Friday, April 28, not Tuesday, May 2. The Judge's
letter was not "totally ignored". The Judge, being an avid reader of
this publication knows damn well this writer has no phone. I appeared
at his office to make an appointment with his secretary to review the
records. No immediate access to documents, as disingenuously implied by
the County Attorney's statement, was sought at that time. Like her
crony the Judge, and apparently an avid reader of this publication
herself, Ms. Mabray knows damn well the circumstances of the visit as
described in the May 1, 2000 Newsletter, but has conveniently chosen to
ignore and distort reality to protect her pals.
The County Attorney has disingenuously asserted: "Mr. Chorney
inquired about copies and Mrs. Cavanaugh explained that copies of the
actual Commissioners' Court documents were available through the County
Clerk's Office." Kindly be advised, my immediate interest was in
documents possessed by the Judge, -- not the Commissioners' Court.
Cavanaugh was well-aware of this fact.
The County Attorney further falsely and disingenuously claims: "The
Judge's administrative assistant is Barbara Cavanaugh and while making
Mr. Chorney's appointment, she reminded him of the Judge's letter." On
the contrary, this writer reminded the administrative assistant, not
the other way around as falsely claimed. Worse yet, Cavanaugh was not
even aware of the Open Records Request or the nature of the documents
sought until informed by this writer.
The County Attorney further claims: "He inquired as to what the
cost of the copies would be and he was told the copies would be one
dollar per page. Mr. Chorney became vocally and visibly upset and then
left the courthouse." Sadly, the statements are again disingenuous,
self-serving, and false. Ms. Mabray has conveniently neglected to
mention Ms. Cavanaugh did not know the cost of copies. An unidentified
County flunky dressed in a maintenance uniform was seated chewing the
fat with the administrative assistant, -- at taxpayer expense. The
flunky arrogantly asserted the charge was to be $1/copy.
This writer was not "vocally and visibly upset." I had all I could do
to stifle a laugh at the Aryan arrogance and ignorance of both County
employees. Worse yet, both were outrageously goofing off while securely
attached to the taxpayer teat. The County Judge has yet to identify the
maintenance worker and why the hell he was gossiping with the
administrative assistant instead of doing his job. Ms. Cavanaugh's
glaring lack of judgement is stunning. Apparently, the Judge could care
less.
Ms. Mabray further asserts: "Between 2:00 and 2:30, Mr. Chorney
returned the files to Mrs. Cavanaugh and said that he had completed his
project and left the courthouse." Again, the statement is false. The
documents were returned to Cavanaugh at 2:45. At no time was the
"project" asserted as finished. Repeatedly, it has been clearly stated
the investigation of the new Law Enforcement Center has just begun and
will continue for months. No further access to judicial records has
been sought as of this date for two reasons. First, the overcharge
issue has not been resolved. More importantly, the Judge has apparently
falsely claimed access had been provided to all records in his
possession germane to the April 22, 2000 Open Records Request. I have
strong reason, however, to suspect his assertion is not true and am
attempting to prove it through other sources.
Ms. Schloss, I am indeed grateful for your efforts to date, -- most
of which only came to my attention recently. I appreciate your
frustration at dealing with County officials as displayed and expressed
in your most recent letter to the County Attorney also dated August 15.
Sadly, welcome to the club.
Ms. Mabray's letter of July 25 is quite indicative of the mindset,
arrogance, continuous stonewalling, outrageous obfuscation, and intense
combativeness of County officials when confronted with aggressive and
determined inquiry. Pressure, however, will continue to be firmly
applied and ratcheted up.
The substance of Mabray's letter is precisely why no open records
complaints will be filed with her office. Sadly and clearly, she is
highly selective in her "prosecutions" and "takes care of her own."
Furthermore, the County Attorney is certainly a serious part of the
problem in this County. Numerous complaints have been brought to my
attention regarding her activities as both a public official as well as
in her private law practice. Sadly, many have strongly accused her of
an egregious conflict of interest, but are unwilling to publicly stand
up for fear of reprisal.
Kindly understand several years ago Ms. Mabray was the same County
official who unsuccessfully attempted to have jail inmate Tina Wisdom,
(incarcerated on non-violent misdemeanor charges), immediately returned
to the Llano County Jail where she had just been raped by inmate trusty
Johnny Joe Pesina due to the egregious indifference, incompetence, and
dereliction of Sheriff Nathan Garrett and the "Good Old Boys" who "run"
the jail.
Just as pointedly, District Attorney Sam Oatman, however,
successfully led a Llano County Grand Jury comprised of a virtual Who's
Who of Llano's "elite" to no bill Pesina to protect the Sheriff and the
jailers. A federal jury in Austin having heard the jail-rape civil
lawsuit, however, found that a rape had indeed occurred in the jail,
but awarded no cash damages due to sovereign immunity statutes that
protect and coddle corrupt and abusive officials.
In a second subsequent jail-rape case involving a different victim, the
District Attorney pre-emptively and conveniently dismissed a jail-rape
indictment returned against the same defendant by the Llano County
Grand Jury. To its credit, the Grand Jury finally did the right thing,
-- despite the District Attorney. The dismissal was ostensibly part of
a plea bargain to an unrelated child molestation case having nothing to
do with the jail. The District Attorney, however, was clearly trying to
protect the Sheriff and jailers since a civil suit had already been
filed in the Tina Wisdom jail-rape.
Worse yet, the District Attorney's apparently corrupt and abusive
influence has been felt within the Open Records Division. Sadly, open
records abuses and stonewalling are only the tip of the iceberg. Our
corrupt and abusive officials are doing all they can to stifle
legitimate inquiry and investigation of abuse, fraud, waste, and other
corruption. -- Sadly, with the help and support of the Open Records
Division. The County Attorney's letter of July 25, 2000 is certainly
indicative of the stiff resistance offered to all inquiry and
investigation of corruption in Llano County.
Sincerely,
Tim Chorney, Publisher
The Llano Ledger
http://maxpages.com/llanoledger
Rt 2 Box 464A
Buchanan Dam, Tx. 78609
cc: Llano Ledger website
cc by e-mail: Llano County Judge J.P. Dodgen; Katherine Minter
Cary, Interim Chief, Open Records Division; June B. Harden, Assistant
Attorney General, Open Records Division; David Mendoza, Legal
Assistant, Open Records Division; David Short, Investigator, Open
Records Division; John Cornyn, Attorney General, State of Texas
**************************
There is far more to be posted, but it will have to wait until
tomorrow. I'll begin posting the August 28, 2000 Newsletter at that
time. It will be long and quite involved, including further
correspondence provided by the General Services Commission that I did
not have time to post today. The July 25, 2000 letter from the County
Attorney is quite indicative of the unfitness of Ms. Mabray to serve in
her position and will be quite enlightening and entertaining. Look for
it at the bottom of the Table of Contents in Newsletter Text V55.
The visitor count proudly stands in excess of 25,400. Non-profit
and outrageously unfunded by the readership it serves due to greed,
gut-wrenching fear, and the continuing relentless intimidation of
corrupt and abusive Llano County officials, this publication remains as
always beholden to NO ONE.
Tim Chorney, Publisher
P.O. Box 997
Buchanan Dam Tx. 78609
llanoledger@mailcity.com
Page Updated Tue Oct 9, 2001 1:04pm EDT