Bill would create Rangers law enforcement corruption unit

McALLEN - Legislators hope to create a special division of the Texas Rangers to investigate law enforcement agents who may be under the influence of cartels and their associates.

But some local agencies say that although they welcome any assistance they can get ferreting out crooked cops, they don't think the move is necessary.

The bill, which will likely be voted on by the full Senate next week, would create the unit within the Texas Rangers no later than December 2010.

The Rangers already have the authority to investigate law enforcement corruption, but the bill would create a special unit specifically focused on investigating local, state and federal officers influenced by organized crime and gangs.

"As these transnational gangs move more and more of these operations into Texas, one of the tactics they use is to attempt to turn law enforcement officers," said Steven Polunsky, a spokesman for Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, who introduced the bill.

"While it's rare the person who would yield that way to temptation, we need to address it so the temptation is reduced and those who do choose that approach are found out and brought to justice."

Polunsky stressed the Ranger unit would focus on investigating officers throughout the state, but the tone of discussion during a Senate committee hearing on the bill last week seemed focus on cartels and border officers.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said he would welcome any assistance from the Rangers, but it is probably unnecessary.

Corruption is not limited to border law enforcement and is a problem throughout the country, Treviño said.

"I think it's shortsighted," Treviño said of the bill. "I think they have tunnel vision. I think they're just reacting to overblown reports of border violence. I think they're just adding on the public hysteria of what is not there."

Mission Police Chief Leo Longoria echoed Treviño.

"I think the FBI is doing a great job in enforcing that," he said.

Some critics have suggested the creation of the unit is a political move designed to create a tough-on-crime image for legislators, given the Rangers' existing ability to investigate corruption.

But state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, a member of the Senate's Criminal Justice Committee who supports the bill, said the creation of the unit is important.

"I don't think there's as many eyes and ears looking at police," Hinojosa said. "They (Rangers) are looking at elected officials."

The Ranger unit would also be able to investigate federal officers working in Texas, though realistically, it would likely play a support role to agencies like the FBI.

Amy Kudwa, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security - which oversees U.S. Customs and Border Protection - said it does not comment on pending legislation.

Several police unions have also come out against the bill, arguing that the Ranger integrity unit could become over-zealous, given its mission. Carona stressed the unit would be exclusively tasked with investigating criminal violations and not administrative ones.

He also emphasized that his bill isn't an indictment of law enforcement personnel, but given the growing threats of cartels and traffickers, the bill is a necessary tool to help fight the growing trend in crime.

The Department of Public Safety - which oversees the Rangers - has stated it is unable to determine how many requests the new unit would receive for assistance, so it's unclear what level of personnel or funding it would receive, according to the state's Legislative Budget Board.

Corruption among border law enforcement has generated many headlines in recent years.

At least five local U.S. Border Patrol agents were named in criminal probes related to drugs in 2008.

Then- Starr County sheriff Reymundo Guerra was arrested in October. Federal prosecutors accuse him of working with members of the Gulf Cartel to hinder narcotics investigations in exchange for thousands of dollars in gifts.

Prosecutors accuse former Hidalgo County Sheriff's deputy Emmanuel Sanchez of smuggling cash between the Valley and Atlanta for a criminal organization working with Mexico's Gulf Cartel.

In 2006, the head of the FBI office in El Paso, Hardrick Crawford, was sentenced to prison after being convicted of making false statements about his relationship with a Mexican racetrack owner suspected of drug trafficking and money laundering.

"This is a problem and we don't want it to get out of hand," Hinojosa said.