Thank God for the Mexicans

Did you know that on Sunday, February 18, 2007, it was reported that my opponent, the District Attorney, had asked the Mexican authorities to prosecute, not extradite, but to prosecute a Mexican national accused of killing a man in El Paso, Texas in a hit and run? According to the report written by Darren Meritz, Agustin Banda was driving a vehicle on U.S. 54 Gateway North at Hondo Pass when he hit and killed Schuyler Thomas. Banda is accused of then fleeing to Mexico. We now read that the Mexican authorities have arrested Banda and El Paso DA, Jaime Esparza, is asking them, the Mexican authorities, to go ahead and prosecute Banda for aggravated assault and for failure to stop and render aid, charges that occurred here in El Paso, Texas.

You the reader and voter may want to know that it is Esparza's job to prosecute crimes committed in El Paso County and not the job of Mexican prosecutors. It is also Esparza's job to seek the extradition of individuals whom he has accused of committing crimes in El Paso and who have fled to foreign jurisdictions. We the taxpayer pay for Esparza to do extraditions. Did you know that Jaime Esparza has a personal secretary, Amy Lujan, who receives at least $25,000.00 extra pay above her county pay of $35,000.00? Mr. Esparza becomes irate when questioned about why his personal secretary gets paid like this and how he can justify the extra pay which is almost equal to her salary. One of Esparza's justifications to pay her this kind of money is that she does EXTRADITIONS. We the taxpayer even pay for her to travel to Mexico City, presumably to work on extraditions.

Why is a secretary "doing extraditions" and traveling to foreign countries on our dime? Lawyers should be doing extraditions. If foreign travel is necessary, we should be sending our most highly educated attorneys to deal with foreign governments. What Mexican bureaucrat wants to deal with an American secretary? They wouldn't do it. They would consider it an insult. They would have their secretary deal with our secretary. Can El Pasoans afford to pay to send a secretary to Mexico City to talk to another secretary?

Furthermore, why isn't Esparza seeking the extradition of Agustin Banda who Esparza is accusing of a hit and run that resulted in the death of a human being? If Esparza is too troubled to go through the extradition process when we have a dead body, then what do we pay him and his over-paid secretary for? Why do we have either one of them around?

Lest we forget, Mr. Schuyler Thomas, the deceased, was someone's son, perhaps brother, husband, and father. Does Mr. Thomas deserve his elected DA to throw his death to the unknowns of a foreign country? Why would we expect a Mexican court system to go after one of their own to get to the truth of Mr. Thomas' death (who died here) and not expect our own DA to prosecute the accused? Which community was harmed by this crime? Mexico or the United States? Is this what Mr. Thomas' family deserves? If it were your mother or father or son dead on the side of US 54 and the Mexican authorities had the suspect in custody what would you expect your DA to do? Would you expect your DA to leave the matter to the Mexicans to prosecute like our DA has done? Or would you expect your DA to extradite the suspect, immediately, to the United States to answer to the community he is accused of harming?

Thank God for the Mexicans. So far they have done their job in arresting the suspect. What has our DA done except to ask others to do his work for him?