Kino Flores: Victim of Politics or Disgrace to Politics?

People have been talking for years, and a few months back newspapers all over Texas reported State Rep.Kino Flores from Palmview, TX, was under investigation.

On Friday afternoon, the Austin American Statesman reported that the beloved representative had indeed been INDICTED. Wow, did that really happen? One of our very own valley reps has been INDICTED? Why, I didn't even know how to spell that word until now.

The representative surrendered himself to the big boys of Travis County on Monday afernoon and was released 2 hours later. 

A judge granted the representative a personal recognizance bond, meaning he will only have to spend time in a jail cell if he fails to show up for scheduled court dates......Neither Flores nor his Austin-based attorney – Roy Minton – returned calls for comment Monday, but they vowed to fight the charges in a statement released last week.

And what has Mr. Flores, a man who entered the Capitol with a modest salary, accomplished through years of hard work and an annual salary of less than $25,000? For starters, some pretty darn good properties:

• A home worth nearly $300k Hidalgo County Appraisal District,
• A PENTHOUSE icondominium in downtown Austin
• A ranch in Bastrop County

Is Dist. 36 cursed or is political corruption simply a way of life here?

In 1993, the man who held the seat before Flores, Sergio Muñoz,  was indicted on charges of possession of several hundred pounds of marijuana. Flores defeated the disgraced incumbent in 1996 (I actually remember that was quite a heated race) only to succumb to the same greed and quest for absolute power that has plagued one too many of our very own Valley politicians.

So much, so much catching up to do, no one post can get it all. In short, State Rep. Kino Flores, who has been the center of much controversy here and there (see posts and links below) has been INDICTED and booked.

What's next? Trial date? Resignation? Elections in 2010? stay tuned.