SAN ANTONIO - Embezzlement convictions of a former tribal manager and his family members have been overturned by a Federal Appeals Court. The former tribal manager and his family have been allegedly convicted of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the first legal casino of Texas.
Isidro Garza Jr., his wife Martha and son Timoteo, a former state representative had there convictions of conspiracy and theft overturned by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The court overturned the conviction on procedural grounds.
Garza, was the former manager of the Traditional Tribe of Texas. He oversaw the financial transaction of the tribe and the casino situated near Eagle Pass. He worked there from 1366 until he was expelled in 2002.
In 2007, a lawsuit was filed against the Kickapoo Seven which comprised of Garza, his family members and other tribal employees. The lawsuit was filed for misappropriating funds from the lucrative casino operation for their political aspirations and personal purchases.
The attorneys, witnesses and family members had to face undue hardships as they had to travel more than 300 miles for the proceedings. It was ruled by the appellate court that the trial of Garza in 2007 had been wrongly moved to Waco.
The trial was moved by the U.S District Judge Alia Ludlum after complaints were made by Garza and the other defendants. The complaint was made that Alia Ludlum had ties to some of the witnesses in the case. Garza and other defendants wanted the case to be moved to San Antonio whose distance is lesser than half the distance to Waco. They wanted the case to transferred to a federal judge familiar to some of the issues of the case.
The appellate court said some of the attorneys dropped out because of the hardship faced by them hen the case was moved to Waco. The dropout forced the appointment of new attorneys resulting in delay of trails. The appellate court said no justification was provided by Ludlum for transferring the trial to Waco.
In its written opinion the court said, “We rarely see a case in which the convenience factor weighs so heavily against transfer. We have no choice but to find that the Rio judge abused her discretion, and to vacate defendants’ convictions”.
On Wednesday, Mario Gonzalez, the attorney of Garza said that he will try and release Timoteo and Isidro Garza as early as possible. Martha Garza has been on supervised release after serving a part of her sentence.
Gonzalez, attorney from Rapid City, S.D said, ”She is really happy with the results of the courts decision. She is really looking forward to being reunited with the family”. U.S Attorney’s office’s spokesman Daryl Fields said that the prosecutors were ready to try the case again.
