Mayor tackles newest probe

Noting that his travels are an "open book," the mayor confronted the newest probe into his affairs, asserting that he fulfills his duties and obligations during the trips.

"I am a fully engaged mayor," said Pat M. Ahumada Jr. of a Dec. 14, 2007 one-day trip to Tampico, Mexico to attend then-Mayor Fernando Azcarraga Lopez's third State of the City address.

The Brownsville Police Department is investigating expenditures surrounding this trip and reviewing all his travel on the city's dime since his election in the summer of 2007.

"I am amazed," the mayor said of the investigation that the police is conducting at the request of Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos.

"I followed the same guidelines for travel as all have done, which is to submit receipts; and I did, along with all the back up material and more," Ahumada said.

Ahumada said that Brownsville Visitors & Convention Bureau Chief Executive Officer Mariano "Bean" Ayala went to Tampico with him as did Jerry Hatley, director of imaging at Valley Regional Medical Center.

Ayala declined to comment on the trip or its particulars on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Hatley also refrained from speaking out. "I really can't comment," the medical facility official said.

The Brownsville Herald obtained documents pertaining to the Tampico trip on Wednesday from the city under the Texas Public Information Act.

The data reflects that Ahumada chartered a private plane and pilot for $2,000 combined and that he paid the pilot and the owner of the plane with a personal check. City records do not specify whether he wrote one or two personal checks.

The day before the trip, Ahumada had received a $352 travel advance from the city, including $300 for mileage and $52 for meal per diem allotment. He also collected $500 from BCVB to pay for Ayala's portion of the trip, though the date the mayor received it is not included in the provided city data.

Ahumada's expense report dated Dec. 21, 2007 carries the notation that he requested to be reimbursed for what the cost of a commercial flight from Brownsville would be versus a privately chartered pilot and plane. City staff looked into what the cost would be and came up with $1,040 for a commercial flight. The $52 meal per diem was added for a total trip cost of $1,092. The $352 advance was deducted and a checked dated Dec. 21 for the remaining $740 was issued to the mayor.

However, the expense report does not reflect the $500 that BVCB had given to the mayor. Including the $500 from BVCB, the mayor received a total of $1,592.

Ahumada maintains that he, and not the city, paid the plane and pilot for Hatley's portion of the cost, which apparently came out to roughly $400.

As the mayor sees it, the city saved more than $1,000 because if he had taken a commercial flight, he would have had to stay overnight twice when routed to Mexico City and then Tampico.

Ahumada said he found the probe puzzling particularly since "I personally" subsidized the trip by slightly more than $400. The mayor also said that no one was forced to go on the trip.

"I do not like being away from home and, in many instances, I travel back and forth on the same day, which saves the city money. I know of others that stay behind to enjoy the sights, while I want to come home," the mayor said.

The $500 from BCVB to Ahumada was apparently questioned by an unnamed person connected to BCVB, spurring a letter from the mayor to Ayala dated Feb. 19 detailing the purpose of the check.