Mayor faces retrial today
The trial of Brownsville Mayor Pat M. Ahumada Jr. ended in a mistrial last year, but he is scheduled to be retried today in state district court on three felony charges stemming from a check scandal.
District Attorney Armando Villalobos is not expecting any plea agreement. Instead, he said in a written statement Friday that he and his office "look forward to the re-trial of the mayor."
Ahumada was not available for comment.
The mayor is charged with theft, abuse of official capacity and misapplication of fiduciary property in connection with a $26,139 check dated Oct. 22, 2008 that the city issued to city vendor Tarsia Technical Industries Inc. of New York, but which was deposited in Ahumada’s business account instead a few days later on Oct. 28.
This will be the second trial for the mayor in the 107th District Court before visiting Judge Robert C. Pate, who declared a mistrial on Oct. 15 after the jury deadlocked.
Mistakes people make were central to Ahumada’s defense.
"The mayor made a mistake," Ahumada’s attorney Ed Cyganiewicz, told the jury in opening statements in the first trial.
"He’s not stupid enough to (deliberately) deposit a check that doesn’t belong to him," Cyganiewicz added, noting that the "innocent mistake" was made in "five minutes of the mayor’s life."
The state’s case suggested that the mayor might have been in need of money, had been awaiting approval of a $70,000 home equity loan that had been partially held up because property taxes were owed and property insurance had to be obtained.
Ahumada took the stand during the first trial and it could not be determined if the same strategy would be followed.
Today’s trial is expected to get under way at 10 a.m. with the jury selection process.
Special Prosecutor Luis Saenz will again prosecute the case against Ahumada. Assistant District Attorney Michael Martinez will assist Saenz.
Cyganiewicz and Star Jones are Ahumada’s attorneys.
In a written statement Friday, Villalobos said that the pending case against the mayor is "an issue that is dividing the community and the sooner it’s resolved, the sooner the city can concentrate on the issues important to governance."
