by Chivis Martinez and Havana for Borderland Beat
José Treviño is Guilty along with three others, all except "Jesus Huitron! Fernando Solis Garcia and "Chevo" Huitron immediately taken into custody.....families embrace, more details below.
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Verdict is in:
3:36 PM the jury reached a decision
As the verdicts were read, the families of the defendants broke down in tears while hugging each other seeking comfort. It was a highly emotional moment and one that reporters themselves could not help being moved by with compassion.
This is not saying that organized crime groups are not to be held responsible for their actions, it is simply making a statement that Mexican society, its people, must change their standards and demand integrity in their social structure the greatest difference between a fully developed nation and one that is struggling to develop is a strong system of law and order. Bringing it home Finn tells the jury; "No evidence of communication between Jose and 40 or 42, or phone calls or emails. They have Zero!"
José Treviño is Guilty along with three others, all except "Jesus Huitron! Fernando Solis Garcia and "Chevo" Huitron immediately taken into custody.....families embrace, more details below.
Verdict is in:
3:36 PM the jury reached a decision
As the verdicts were read, the families of the defendants broke down in tears while hugging each other seeking comfort. It was a highly emotional moment and one that reporters themselves could not help being moved by with compassion.
Jose Treviño Morales -Guilty
Francisco Colorado Cessa - GuiltyFernando Solis Garcia - Guilty
Eustevio Maldonado Huitron - GuiltyJesus Maldonado Huitron - Not Guilty
The judge ordered Fernando Solis Garcia, and Eustevio Maldonado Huitron taken into custody.
Jesus Maldanado Huitron, obviously very upset about his brother said it was an injustice. His life and business is in shambles. It's an injustice. “My life is destroyed. I will work to build it back.” He said he had six horses the government didn't take. "I plan to continue building houses and painting houses.
His lawyer Brent Mayr said, "J has always been a contributing member of society and his life will be rebuilt.
Jesus Maldonado Huitron and his niece expressed their feelings of injustice, and reflected pointing to the fact that Paul Joans and Tyler Graham being ‘white” horse trainers.
Closing Arguments:
Defense attorneys argued their case to the jury, attacking the credibility of the inmates that served as witnesses for the state. Citing their criminal history of drug trafficking and murder, attorneys concluded the inmate witness’ testimony should be discounted for those reasons in addition to personal gain in exchange for testifying. Attorney David Finn
Attorney David Finn representing José Treviño Morales, made the point that the timing of the money laundering investigation should be noted.
"The horse, zeta money laundering conspiracy investigation was a politically motivated, the timing of the indictment coming three months before the American presidential election and a month before the Mexican presidential election....in the US everyone was in an uproar about Fast and Furious, Eric Holder and the shooting of Agent Zapata.. Mexico's problem is corruption."
Chivis: Finn surely hit the head on the nail in that last statement, it is one I often articulate, and strongly have confidence in. Cartels are the byproduct of corruption, but it’s the corruption that permeates every social, judicial and political system in Mexico and the basis for their inability to solve serious issues.
Corruption has allowed crime to thrive and expand into an uncontrollable entity. However, Mexico has an even greater issue, as corruption is an accepted way of life, embedded in the mindset of its citizens.
In Mexico, there is a system that is so weak, and corrupt, society is fearful to call for assistance, for bad guys wear uniforms intended for good guys. [Chivis stepping off her soapbox].
While addressing his client Finn argues that the state, "Can't get the big guns, [so they] get the clean brother"
He continues, the prosecution is counting on bad math to convict these guys 0+0+0+0 =0 and the state spoke about “40” [José’s brother Miguel Treviño] to bolster the case.
"They talked about "40" because they didn't have a case”
He tells jurors about José being harassed for years because of his brothers,
"The government has been all over José for years now, [Being] searched at the border, his house in Texas, his car in Oklahoma, and later the raid at the ranch."
"They searched and came up with zero", "150 boxes and this is all you got?"
"They brought “40” into it because they didn't have a case.
Finn reminds jurors;
"The burden of the proof is on the government beyond a reasonable doubt. Did they proof guilt beyond a reasonable doubt?"
0+0+0=0
If you hesitated to judge him guilty, that is enough to say, “not guilty"
Attorney Christie Williams: Representing José Treviño
Williams recaps in her argument; "The government didn't prove its case and it is my job to point that out.”
"The government didn't do their job and the government is trying to make you believe it did [have a case] because José has the Treviño name."
She prompted jurors the prosecutors looked at all the evidence but couldn't get a wiretap on her client, so they assembled 60 witnesses and still can't prove that Jose Trevino knowingly agreed to participate and conceal drug money.
“Prosecution only saw what they were looking for”, said Williams, “They didn't have evidence before the indictment."
"The prosecution wants us to think Treviño's were broke and they got a hold of some social security report. But why didn't they [use information] from tax filings?"
"It is really important to the case, to note that the business was started with clean money from the $25,000 to buy Tempting Dash. If the $25,000 is clean, then the winnings from the race are clean and the IRS didn't order tax records."
She continues, that it would have been easy for the Treviño’s to put aside cash and she did the math showing it wouldn't be that hard.
"It isn't my job to go with my calculator and their records and show how possible it is by putting $200 a week- you don't want to see me get my calculator out again."
2006 -$7,700
2007 -$7,700
2008 - $7,700
Williams further contends that the Treviño’s would never have bought Tempting Dash for $25,000, "a horse with borne virus and a bone chip on the ankle but Jose knew and he wanted to start a business."
“So we see Jose buy the horse, win a race, hire a book keeper, do tax returns.. He is honest and hardworking. He could have sold Tempting Dash at any time for 3 million, he didn't do that, he wanted to build a business.”
[Problem alert, explain Gordo’s ownership, while Tempting won the big race, why would he willingly sell a horse earning over 1.4M?]
“There is nothing wrong to start a business, want to breed babies of winning horses in Texas and Oklahoma.”
"Guerra knew Villareal for 25 years. Treviño bought from Villareal. Guerra didn't suspect anything was off until he realized Villareal had too many horses under Fast and Furious. Guerra wasn't dishonest....They've done everything to make it look like José is dishonest, Searching his house at 7 AM, at the border, his car but they didn't find anything.”
Williams goes on to say the government was busting everything around José but his life didn't change because he didn't need to change, he wasn't doing anything wrong just trying to run his horse breeding racing business.
"After the raid at Los Alamitos, he didn't change a thing." "What did they find?”
“Zero."
“He still had the same old flip phone."
“They found he has lived here since he was 15, and worked hard. Why would he suddenly abandon his life, to become tangled with the legacy of the Zetas?”
The Zetas, and they are really terrible, will make a case. But my client only shares the same last name, he is not a Zeta."
"That is why you should write Not Guilty under [the name of] Jose Treviño", Williams concludes.