Flores denies wrongdoing in obtaining cabin permit

PHARR - State Rep. Ismael "Kino" Flores insisted Thursday that he did nothing wrong when he bought a coveted coastal fishing cabin from a family hoping to build a $23 million race track in Hidalgo County.

The legislator said he paid $35,000 for the rare cabin lease and did not see a conflict of interest in conducting business deals with a family with pending business before the Legislature.

"Just because I'm a legislator doesn't mean I stop being an individual," he said during a sprawling interview Thursday at a Pharr Whataburger. "Everything was done above board. There was no wrongdoing."

Lease agreements obtained by The Monitor earlier this week showed Joseph LaMantia III transferred his lease on the cabin to Flores in October 2006 -- five months before the Texas Racing Commission granted final approval to the Tesoro Race Park project.

The LaMantia family, owners of Annheuser Bush affiliate L&F Distributors, are major investors in the quarterhorse race track slated for construction in South Mcallen.

But Flores - who chairs the House committee with jurisdiction over the racing commission - said Thursday the cabin transfer and the race track approval had nothing to do with each other.

"I saw an ad in the newspaper for this cabin," he said. "I bid on it, and I happened to have the highest bid."

The lawmaker maintains he has since sold the lease to Donna paving contractor Jason Eberle for $25,000 but did not have a receipt for the sale. Eberle did not return multiple calls for comment Thursday.

"I actually lost money on this," Flores said.

The cabin - just south of the Arroyo Colorado - is one of 14 that dot the intercoastal waterways between the Cameron County coast and South Padre Island.

The buildings, which are leased to private individuals by the Texas General Land Office, are seen as hot commodities among avid anglers and the most elaborate trade for hundreds of thousands of dollars, several current and former cabin lessors said. Those that have been granted leases often hold onto them for years.

Flores, an 11-year incumbent, is currently the subject of an ongoing probe by the Travis County district attorney's office into several plane trips he took with the LaMantia family between Austin and the Rio Grande Valley. Prosecutors have also inquired into several land dealings, Flores' attorney Roy Minton has said.

The legislator has previously denied any illegal or unethical activity in relation to the investigation but declined to discuss the plane trips or land purchases Thursday on advice from his attorney.