Posted on 01/04/2008 7:26:13 PM PST by NormsRevenge
AUSTIN, Texas - Authorities raided the offices of an influential Democratic donor on Friday, prompting accusations by the donor's attorneys that the raid was politically motivated.
The state attorney general's office said it was assisting the Nueces County district attorney in the criminal investigation of Mauricio Celis, 36, who has given money to major Democratic candidates including Hillary Clinton and is the subject of numerous ongoing lawsuits and charges.
Attorney General Greg Abbott, a Republican, sued Celis in November, accusing him of practicing law without a license. Agents from Abbott's office were among those involved in the Friday search of Celis' Corpus Christi office.
"What is becoming abundantly clear is that we're looking at a political vendetta by an openly ambitious Republican politician in Austin who wants to score points by persecuting a prominent Democrat in South Texas," said Tony Canales, an attorney for Celis.
Jerry Strickland, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said the warrant was executed in an ongoing criminal investigation.
"The office of the attorney general, which regularly conducts and supervises complex money laundering investigations, is assisting the Nueces County district attorney with this case," he said.
Celis has a controlling interest in the CGT Law Group of Corpus Christi. Texas law prohibits anyone from owning a controlling interest in a law firm unless he is a licensed lawyer. While Celis is not licensed to practice law in Texas, he has argued that he can legally practice law in Mexico.
The search warrant targeted any records or communications related to the firm's business transactions or finances and authorized investigators to seize and analyze any pertinent information.
The raid was unrelated to Celis' November indictments by a Nueces County grand jury on four charges, including perjury and holding himself out as a lawyer.
if the hsu fits..
you can’t acquits..
The AP reported this? Hah! Must be some sort of mistake!!
Wonder if Mauricio Celis had any interests tying him to drug trafficking on the Texas-Mexico border.
“”What is becoming abundantly clear is that we’re looking at a political vendetta by an openly ambitious Republican politician in Austin who wants to score points by persecuting a prominent Democrat in South Texas,” said Tony Canales, an attorney for Celis. “
Paging Ronnie Earle. Ronnie Earle to the green room please.
Whew!! From the title of the thread I thought he violated McCain/Feingold.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A Democratic Party donor accused of posing as a lawyer is asking a judge to let him travel to Mexico to handle a legal battle there.
Mauricio Celis surrendered his passport as a condition of bail after he was charged with perjury and other counts last month.
He’s also being sued by the Texas Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee and the Texas attorney general on claims that the law firm he operated improperly shared legal fees.
But his attorneys say his presence in Mexico has become necessary. The 36-year-old Corpus Christi businessman has claimed he can legally practice law in Mexico. A date for a hearing on the bail motions hasn’t been set.
Attorneys have requested that the hearing be by telephone because they want to move fast and fear being unable to contact witnesses in Mexico over the holiday season.
http://www.kvia.com/global/story.asp?s=7513283 Dec 18, 2007
Once again Hillary’s brain is in a blender. It’s jello!
I just love it when the libs/socialists start dining on their own.
Vendetta my ruffled pink panties!!
The new race card: Political.
If I’m a Dem, Rep officials can’t touch me?
No! No! No!
Don’t let him slip away to Mexico: authorities will never get him back into this country.
“While Celis is not licensed to practice law in Texas, he has argued that he can legally practice law in Mexico.”
Sorry that doesn’t make you an attorney in the United States or Texas. But it’s a nice damn try from a “Mexican attorney.
CORPUS CHRISTI — Investigators from the Texas Attorney General's Office served a search warrant Friday on the law offices of CGT International Law Group, removing boxes of financial documents, including tax returns.
The firm's owner, Mauricio Celis, was indicted in November by a Nueces County grand jury on charges of impersonating a lawyer and a police officer. The attorney general sought an injunction in October against the firm, alleging that Celis misrepresented himself as an attorney and asking a judge to shut the firm down.
Friday's raid is an indication that the state is considering criminal charges.
The raid came one day after investigators interviewed accountants for Celis.
popcorn?
Thanks Calpernia, Yes, please pass the popcorn.
Thanks Lucy. Norman Hsu was just sentenced to three years, maybe we can get a domino effect going here, lol.
Lol, you are fast tonight!!
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