Search warrant executed at Zavaletta Law Firm

The Cameron County District Attorney's Office executed a search warrant at the Zavaletta Law Firm late Thursday searching for confidential information that was used in a political advertisement.

The records contain complaints of child abuse or neglect provided to Cameron County's Child Advocacy Centers, Monica�s House and Maggie�s House, by the district attorney. The information used in the ad was not meant for public viewing, District Attorney Armando Villalobos argues, as the case files contain information about complaints and victims, which is protected by law.

"We want to get the original documents to see if we can determine where they came from," Villalobos said as the investigation began.

On Thursday evening, he reported, "We were able to get the documents."

Zavaletta, who lost his bid for the district attorney seat to Villalobos on Tuesday, is not being charged in connection with this investigation as of Thursday. Investigators arrived at his law firm on East St. Charles Street at about 5 p.m., were seen speaking with Zavaletta and leaving sometime after 7 p.m.

"I signed a victim/witness statement that I would cooperate," Zavaletta said. �I cooperated fully with the authorities. I have not been charged with any crime and I certainly have not been arrested."

Zavaletta explained that he signed "a sworn victim/witness statement detailing how I came to be in possession of this information which at no time indicated that it was confidential or could not be disseminated to any third person."

Last week, he explained that the information was left on his doorstep and that the documents carried the district attorney' letterhead. In his original ad however, he did not source the documents, rather iDocket.com and the district clerk's office.

Subsequent ads were corrected. Zavaletta now says he has determined who left the envelope at his office and provided the details to investigators. He declined to share them for this article because it is an ongoing investigation, he said. A criminal inquiry began last month into the Child Advocacy Centers after the protected records were used for Zavaletta's political campaign ads.

William Peacock, chairman of the board or directors for the centers, said the information in the ad is made available to board members for reference at meetings. He confirmed it is confidential and not for public viewing.

It's only used for statistical data when applying for grants and funding. The ad lists names of 103 individuals who had complaints filed against them on crimes ranging from injury to a child to sexual assault of a child. Seventy-seven of the complaints were 'declined at intake' meaning they were not arrested or charged.

The remaining suspects received deferred adjudication, pleaded guilty or had the charges dismissed. If someone is found responsible for distributing the information, they could be charged with "release of confidential information, a crime ranging from a misdemeanor to felony offense, depending on the circumstances," Villalobos said.