Pubdate: Sat, 13 Jan 2001
Source: Corpus Christi Caller-Times (TX)
Copyright: 2001 Corpus Christi Caller-Times
Address: P.O. Box 9136, Corpus Christi, TX 78469-9136
Feedback: http://www.caller.com/commcentral/email_ed.htm
Website: http://www.caller.com/
Author: Jeremy Schwartz

NARCOTICS TASK FORCE HAS OFFICIALS SPARRING

Kleberg County Will Get A Portion Of The Seized Assets, According To 
New Agreement

Kleberg County's sheriff signed an agreement to continue the South 
Texas Specialized Crimes and Narcotics Task Force just as the 
deadline expired Friday - but not before he and the Kingsville city 
manager traded threats and insults.

The disagreement between Sheriff Tony Gonzalez and City Manager 
Hector Hinojosa involved Gonzalez's demand that Kleberg County 
receive a share of the task force's assets, which he estimated at 
about $1 million.

After weeks of wrangling, the agreement will give Kleberg and other 
counties in the task force a portion of the assets seized during 
operations in which they participate.

The task force is headquartered in Kleberg County, but has operated 
in Jim Wells, Kenedy and Brooks counties as well.

The city of Kingsville administers its grants.

The task force, which supports itself through assets gained in drug 
and cash seizures made along popular trafficking routes to the 
border, does not routinely share its assets with the counties it 
works with.

Instead, it uses the money to provide the matching local portion of 
grants that finance the 14-agent operation.

In return, task force Commander Jaime Garza has said, the counties 
receive free law enforcement.

In a letter to Gonzalez, also sent to city and county officials, 
Hinojosa accuses the sheriff of demanding $100,000 during a Jan. 3 
meeting in exchange for his signature on a cooperation agreement 
needed to obtain grants.

"Should the city of Kingsville be denied the funding for this grant 
because of your failure to sign the Cooperative Agreement, it will be 
my position, publicly, that the loss of the task force will fall 
squarely on your shoulders because of your failure to cooperate with 
the grant proposal," Hinojosa wrote.

Gonzalez said he told Hinojosa only that counties should receive a 
share of assets seized during arrests in which they participate.

Jim Wells County received $100,000 from a $1.5 million seizure near 
Alice in 1999.

"That's not the way I took it," Hinojosa said.

Gonzalez replied with a letter of his own in which he accused 
Hinojosa of having extremist views and putting the needs of the task 
force above the needs of Kingsville.

"I have been sheriff long enough to know putting up with inflated 
egos is just one inconvenience I have to put up with," he wrote.

Gonzalez also wrote that he never tried to sell his signature.

Gonzalez said Friday that Kleberg County should be compensated for 
its financial role in helping to start the task force and for 
continuing to provide facilities, personnel and other resources.

Both men said the relationship between the city and the sheriff's 
department would not be hurt by the disagreement.

"As far as I'm concerned it's water under the bridge," Hinojosa said. 
"He's still my friend."

Jim Wells and Kenedy counties both entered into the renewal agreement 
as well. Brooks County officials did not sign the agreement by the 
Friday deadline.

Brooks County Sheriff Balde Lozano could not be reached for comment.

Last year the task force was ranked the state's top drug task force 
out of the nearly 50 state-sponsored narcotics task forces in the 
state.

The ranking was based on a number of factors, including number of 
arrests, amount of drugs seized and ability to work with other law 
enforcement agencies.
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