INDICTMENTS BEGIN TO RAIN ON LOCAL POLITIQUEROS

By Juan Montoya
The first of what court observers say will be numerous indictments alleging violations of the Texas Election Code by local political operatives paid by politicians to harvest votes from the elderly and mentally-impaired has been issued by a grand jury..
Others indictments, court watchers say, are on the offing.
The indictment issued March 20 by a Cameron County grand jury is said to have been conducted by investigators with the Texas Attorney General's Office bypassing the local district attorney's office.
"Expect more," said the source.
The case has been assigned by the Cameron County District Clerk's Office to the 107th District Court. Judge Benjamin Euresti presides over that court.
In the indictment, the state charges that the political operative violated Section 86.0051 and Section 64.036 of the election code.
The first section deals with "handling of the carrier envelope Action by Persons Other than the Voter. The second section deals with providing unlawful assistance to voters.
In the first charge, the state charged that the political operative deposited the carrier envelope of (name) in the mail without providing the defendant's signature, printed name and address on the reverse side of the envelope, and while assisting with same ballot, knowingly prepared ballot without direction from (the voter).
The second charge reads much the same and states the person charged "failed to provide the defendant's signature, printed name and sender address on the official ballot (while assisting (voter) with it...."
The Texas Election Code states that:
(b) A person other than the voter who deposits the carrier envelope in the mail or with a common or contract carrier must provide the person's signature, printed name, and residence address on the reverse side of the envelope.
(c) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly violates Subsection (b). It is not a defense to an offense under this subsection that the voter voluntarily gave another person possession of the voter's carrier envelope.(d) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor, unless the person is convicted of an offense under Section 64.036 for providing unlawful assistance to the same voter in connection with the same ballot, in which event the offense is a state jail felony.

The indictment has been a closely-guarded secret and few people were willing to talk about the issue.
However, the scuttlebutt on the street is that former DA candidate Carlos Masso will represent the defendant named in the indictment.
The court documents do not indicate whether the defendant had been arrested and arraigned. There is no indication when the first court hearing is scheduled.