Celis indicted on two charges (Money laundering is a first-degree felony charge)

A Nueces County grand jury handed up two indictments Friday against former law firm operator Mauricio Celis, charging him with money laundering and impersonating a lawyer. The money laundering charge is a first-degree felony punishable by five years to life in prison.

District Attorney Carlos Valdez said the investigation into Celis is essentially over and no one else, including former employees of Celis' firm, is a target. The grand jury's term expires next week.

"If during the course of trial, during the course of preparation, we find something else, we might do it," Valdez said.

Celis' attorney Tony Canales did not return a phone call to his office Friday afternoon. Spokesman Jason Stanford was out of the office and did not return a call to his cell phone. Celis previously has maintained his innocence and said the investigation is politically motivated.

The grand jury listened to nearly three days of testimony and evidence, spread across three weeks, before indicting Celis. Well-known trial lawyer Mikal Watts, a friend of Celis, testified Friday. Investigators from the Texas Attorney General's Office also appeared before the grand jury, with several boxes of evidence.

By law, Valdez cannot comment on grand jury proceedings, even to confirm if a witness testified. Watts declined to comment after leaving the jury room. Watts previously told the Caller-Times that his firm accepted three cases from CGT Law Group International, Celis' former firm, and that he was confident the transactions were legal.

Celis is scheduled to appear Monday at a status hearing on previous charges. Valdez said he would ask the court to issue a summons rather than arrest warrant for Celis.

Celis, 36, was indicted in November 2007 by a Nueces County grand jury on felony charges of impersonating a lawyer and a police officer, perjury and theft. He owned Corpus Christi-based CGT Law Group before coming under public scrutiny after an incident with police in September and an ad campaign by another local lawyer claiming Celis was not a licensed attorney.

The indictments handed up Friday include 16 additional counts of impersonating a lawyer, based on listing his occupation as an attorney on insurance applications and fax cover sheets, and for accepting $1.3 million in checks written to him for attorney fees.

The money laundering charge is based on about $8.6 million in transactions. State law defines money laundering as acquiring or transferring money through the commission of a crime. The crime to which Valdez and the Texas Attorney General's Office link the money transfer is impersonating a lawyer.

Money laundering is a first-degree felony punishable by five years to life in prison. The other charges are third-degree felonies punishable by two to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.

"This is just the tip of a very, very big iceberg," Valdez said. "There's no way we can delve into all that's happened."

State officials raided the former CGT office at 500 N. Water St. in January and hauled off Palm Pilots and 13 boxes of records. A search warrant linked Celis to possible money laundering, which he has denied.

The warrant also indicated officials were looking for links between Celis and other lawyers and firms who accepted or gave referrals to CGT Law Group. Celis has asked the courts to return his property and said the Republican Attorney General's Office is carrying out a political vendetta against him because of his extensive donations to Democrats.

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 down the firm. That case now is on hold pending the outcome of the criminal cases against Celis.

Celis has said he was authorized to practice law in Mexico. Documents filed by Valdez show he did not have a law degree there. Celis' attorneys have filed three opinions from legal professors stating a person does not need a law degree to practice in Mexico. Celis has maintained he did not represent clients in the United States.

In addition to the criminal charges, Celis faces civil suits from the attorney general and the state Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, as well as a former CGT client who claims Celis represented her. Former CGT lawyers have sued the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee claiming it interfered with settlement money during its investigation.

A list of goodies his criminal activities have provided to the democrat party......

CELIS, MAURICIO
CORPUS CHRISTI,TX 78414
OWENS & ASSOCIATES/ATTORNEY
8/4/2006
$5,000
WesPAC

CELIS, MAURICIO
CORPUS CHRISTI,TX 78414
SELF EMPLOYED/ATTORNEY
11/8/2005
$5,000
Radnofsky, Barbara Ann

CELIS, MAURICIO
CORPUS CHRISTI,TX 78414
OWEN AND ASSOCIATES/ATTORNEY
3/22/2006
$2,100
McCaskill, Claire

CELIS, MAURICIO
CORPUS CHRISTI,TX 78414
SELF/ATTORNEY
11/15/2005
$2,000
Ortiz, Solomon P

CELIS, MAURICIO
CORPUS CHRISTI,TX 78414
SELF/ATTORNEY
7/20/2006
$1,000
Ortiz, Solomon P

CELIS, MAURICIO R
CORPUS CHRISTI,TX 78414
OWENS & ASSOCIATES/ATTORNEY
10/13/2006
$5,000
Leadership of Today & Tomorrow

CELIS, MAURICIO R
CORPUS CHRISTI,TX 78414
OWEN & ASSOCIATES/ATTORNEY
4/19/2006
$2,369
Menendez, Robert

CELIS, MAURICIO R
CORPUS CHRISTI,TX 78414
OWEN & ASSOCIATES/ATTORNEY
12/21/2005
$2,000
Menendez, Robert

CELIS, MAURICIO R
CORPUS CHRISTI,TX 78414
5/17/2006
($2,269)
Menendez, Robert

CELIS, ROSA
CORPUS CHRISTI,TX 78414
N/A/HOUSEWIFE
11/15/2005
$2,000
Ortiz, Solomon P

CELIS, ROSA I
CORPUS CHRISTI,TX 78414
SELF-EMPLOYED/HOMEMAKER
6/30/2006
$2,100
McCaskill, Claire

CELIS, ROSA I
CORPUS CHRISTI,TX 78414
HOMEMAKER
12/21/2005
$2,000
Menendez, Robert

CELIS, ROSA I
CORPUS CHRISTI,TX 78414
SELF-EMPLOYED/HOMEMAKER
6/30/2006
$1,900
McCaskill, Claire

Since when did a phony "economic crime" acquire a higher penalty than carjacking or rape?

Perhaps you should read about previously posted threads on Free Republic about Mauricio Celis before posting your comment. This is just the last set of charges by this grand jury. He's already been indicted for impersonating a lawer and and impersonating a law enforcement officer. Funny that you should mention rape. This whole thing started when a naked woman ran from his house to a convenience store. Celis followed her there in his bathrobe and claimed he was a sherrif's deputy in Duval County and tried to take custody of the woman. The clerk in the convenience store called the police and Celis was taken into custody. The newly elected Nueces County Sherrif Jim Kaelin called the Sherrif in Duval County and found out Celis' deputy credentials had expired in 2003 - over 4 years prior to this incident. After further investigations of Celis, it was determined that he had no law degree from any law school in any country. Celis also was one of the top contributors to Democrats running for state office in Texas in 2006 including a big contribution to Mikal Watts' PAC.

CORPUS CHRISTI — For years, Mauricio Celis has enjoyed all the trappings of a successful South Texas lawyer, from a private jet and exotic cars like Ferraris and Bentleys, to a spacious downtown office with a sweeping view of the marina.
Owner of a law firm that regularly refers high-dollar cases to the city’s most powerful litigators, Celis developed a reputation as a generous player, handing out fat checks to Democratic candidates, hosting fundraisers and serving on the board of Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi.

Born in Mexico, raised in Rockport, educated in Monterrey, Mexico, and for a while apparently in the air-conditioning business, Celis seemed a South Texas version of the classic American success story.

But the story line took a bad turn on Sept. 28, when Thomas Henry, a Corpus Christi lawyer, appeared on a local television station and denounced Celis, 35, as a fraud.

http://tinyurl.com/5b2olh

Celis claims he has a law license from Mexico, and has the right to own and operate a law firm in Texas because it is affiliated with one he owns in Washington.

However, according to a heavyweight lineup of legal experts consulted by Henry, Celis should not be operating a law firm in Texas and other firms should not be accepting case referrals from him.

Among other conclusions reached by retired Texas Supreme Court Justice Craig Enoch, St. Mary’s University Law Professor Michael Ariens and George W. Jones, former president of the Washington, D.C., bar association, are that Celis has no law license from any known jurisdiction — including Mexico — and should have nothing to do with the practice of law in Texas.

Mauricio Celis’ troubles first came to light in September when police were called to a southside convenience store for an alleged sexual assault. Police on the scene say, Celis dressed in a bathrobe, displayed a Duval County Sheriff’s department badge and attempted to gain custody of the alleged victim. 3 News has learned that this is not the first time Celis has been accused of alleged impersonations.

According to offence reports from the Corpus Christi police department, on December 15, 2001 Celis was stopped for speeding in his black Mercedes he was doing 54 in a 30 mile an hour speed zone. According to the report, when asked for his driver license, Celis displayed a law enforcement i-d card it identified him as a Duval County sheriff’s deputy, issued in 19-97. The officer then reports: when issuing a citation, Celis asked quote: “it doesn’t help if i’m a deputy?” Two days later, that same officer called the Duval County Sheriff’s office, and discovered that Celis did not work for them.

In August, 2002, police are dispatched to an apartment in the 55 hundred block of Saratoga for a reported assault. The report said a woman who claimed to be Celis ex-girlfriend, complained that he broke into her apartment, pushing his way in. The woman said Celis grabbed her phone as she tried to call 911 and threw it across room breaking it. She then locked herself in a bathroom. She told police, Celis yelled that quote: “nothing would happen to him because he is an attorney,” and “he knows people.”

Later that year in November, just outside the Palace Men’s Club, the owner called police and told them Mauricio Celis threatened him with a gun. In the report: police said the victim approached Celis’ car and saw that he had a handgun on his lap. The victim said Celis threatened him by saying quote: “you don’t know who you’re messing with.” When questioned by police in this incident, again Celis identified himself as a reserve deputy from Duval County.

Then in January of 2004, a police report states that Celis was stopped for speeding on the 1900 block of Linden clocked at 53 miles per hour on a 35 mile per hour zone. In this incident the officer reports Celis produced a badge and an id card. He’s asked if he’s a police officer: Celis answered yes. The badge and the i.D are from the Duval County Sheriff’s department. Noticing a Corpus Christi address as his residence, the officer asked Celis if he traveled back and forth to Duval county for work, Celis answered: “well yes.” He was asked a second time if he was a police officer, Celis is quoted saying, “yes and i am also an attorney” and that he had been in law enforcement all his life. He also stated that “he had gone to Desert Storm.” Celis was issued a citation for speeding...And again he asked the officer, quote, “you’re not going to give me a break?” the officer answered, “no,” and wished him a good evening.

Actually this proves my point. If this guy is indictable on a set of actual crimes, then why is "money laundering" the one that carries the stiffest penalty? The idea of money laundering as a crime was invented by drug enforcement and BATF types to criminalize various forms of commerce they don't like.

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