NO JAIL FOR GUILTY EX-LAWMAN; OTHERS GUILTY ON LESSER CHARGES DID TIME

Since he was indicted, almost all indicted on theft charges in his precinct saw some jail or prison time, including 12 with no priors

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Former Precinct 6 Constable Victor Trevino will serve no jail time after pleading guilty in a public corruption case in which tens of thousands of dollars went missing from a charity he oversaw.

Zero jail time stands in stark contrast to many arrested by the former constable's own officers for crimes in which far less money was involved.

ABC-13 examined every case of people indicted on theft charges in Trevino's Precinct 6 since Nov. 16, 2012, the day Trevino was indicted. There are a total of 133 cases in which less than $1,500 was stolen in the East End.

Almost all of the 133 saw some jail or prison time. Many, unlike Trevino, had prior convictions. Others were charged with crimes in addition to theft, such as assault or drug possession.

But 12 people on this list who pleaded guilty did jail time and yet had no prior Harris County convictions, court records show. And all 12 cases are misdemeanors, unlike Trevino's who pleaded guilty to a single count of misapplication of fiduciary property, a felony.

"I pleaded guilty because I am guilty," Trevino said last week before 185th District Criminal Court Judge Susan Brown handed down his sentence: 10 years probation, 150 hours of community service, a small fine and a $30,200 donation to a state-approved charity. Brown wanted the donation made anonymously by Trevino so he couldn't get any credit for it.

Trevino's lawyer now objects to the charity payment and is fighting that part of the sentence.

Some of those 12 individuals with no priors who served time include:

Jorge Tercero, who pleaded guilty to stealing four razors and a hair trimmer; he served 10 days.

Shawn Tanner, who pleaded guilty to stealing three video games and a compact disk; he served three days.

Auturo Brito, who pleaded guilty to stealing 2,435 pounds of grease; he also served three days.

Dedrick Hankerson, who pleaded guilty for stealing a camera worth less than $500; he served 30 days.

Trevino has long denied he stole anything. The former constable blamed poor record keeping and his lack of oversight as the president of CARE, the charity he founded a few years after being elected constable in 1988, as the cause of nearly $200,000 in missing money.

During sentencing, district attorney fraud examiner George Jordan connected cashed CARE checks to deposits in Trevino's personal bank accounts that were closely timed to Trevino's casino junkets. Jordan's testimony also noted the lack of additions to the nonprofit's account in the weeks before and after certain fundraising events.

His analysis showed at least $178,550 in cash deposits to Trevino or his wife's personal accounts from 2008 to 2011.

"I believe the Constable personally benefited," prosecutor Bill Moore said after the sentencing. "I think he used this money to gamble and it went into his personal accounts."

Trevino attorney Chip Lewis disagreed that the his client's actions amounted to theft.

"Everyone's attempt to turn this into a theft is a bit (disingenuous)," Lewis said. "They charged it as a substantial risk of loss to the charity. They could have charged theft if they wanted to."

But to many ABC-13 spoke with in the East End and those coming out of Harris County jail, the charges look very similar.

Nathaniel Rivera was outside the jail last week waiting to pick up someone. He noted the contrast between Trevino's sentence and how others are punished.

"Different consequences for people lower on the totem pole," Rivera said.

CONSTABLE VICTOR TREVINO INDICTED BY GRAND JURY ON 4 COUNTS

HOUSTON -- Harris County Precinct 6 Constable Victor Trevino was indicted Friday on four felony charges. The 14 month long investigation of Trevino was sparked by our own 13 Undercover probe into his office.

13 Undercover started its work after an outcry from employees. Over months, the reports detailed questionable spending and record-keeping inside the Precinct 6 constable's office. Trevino's lawyer calls these technical violations. Texas law calls them felonies that could send the long-time constable to prison.

The first charge is misapplication of fiduciary property, in which Trevino allegedly did not document where he spent thousands in cash donations to his CARE charity. The two counts of tampering with government records are for alleged campaign donations accepted, but never reported. And the last charge is abuse of official capacity. Trevino allegedly used on-duty employees to deliver eviction and vacate notices, something that shouldn't be paid for with tax dollars.

For 23 years, Trevino has been an elected constable; arguably Houston's most well-known lawman and biggest east side community booster. But as this grand jury investigation closed in on him, the normally camera happy constable went quiet.

It was the constable's own employees who reached out for help, sending 13 Undercover anonymous letters a year and a half ago begging, "please help us at Precinct 6." A former employee told 13 Undercover that employees felt pressured to donate their own money and their taxpayer paid time to Trevino's charity and his political campaign to keep the jobs your tax dollars pay them to do.

Former Precinct 6 employee Anna Nunez had a front row seat in Trevino's back office.

Wayne Dol13 Undercover started its work after an outcry from employees. Over months, the reports detailed questionable spending and record-keeping inside the Precinct 6 constable's office. Trevino's lawyer calls these technical violations. Texas law calls them felonies that could send the long-time constable to prison.

The first charge is misapplication of fiduciary property, in which Trevino allegedly did not document where he spent thousands in cash donations to his CARE charity. The two counts of tampering with governcefino: You thought this was a shakedown?

Anna Nunez: Absolutely.

She personally collected some of the money from deputies; cash bound for Trevino's charity and campaign

"What made me upset was seeing officers on their own time pulling out cash and personal checks," said Nunez. "They all feared for their jobs."

Trevino told 13 Undercover in August 2011,"To make anyone feel compelled or forced to volunteer to participate is not acceptable."

He denied it then, and his lawyer has since. But emails 13 Undercover unearthed last year show deputies complaining about Trevino's drumbeat for charity donations, "he's killing us," one wrote. Supervisors emailing underlings, "do I have to remind you who you work for?"

The grand jury failed to indict Trevino with pressuring employees to donate, but did say that some donations were improperly or in some cases never reported.

And when it came to spending charity money, Trevino couldn't provide many receipts. 13 Undercover showed thousands of dollars in checks cashed at east side convenience stores with little record of where the money was spent.

Wayne Dolcefino: When I see checks like this, you are not buying chips and drinks, you're cashing checks.

Constable Victor Trevino: That's possible.

Dolcefino: You are or you aren't?

Trevino: Of course.

Trevino called it sloppy but insists the money helped needy neighbors and did not line his own pocket. His lawyer blames bad accounting.

And then there's the way Trevino dispatched his deputies. 13 Undercover found evidence that the constable used on-duty, uniformed deputies to serve eviction and property vacate notices. They were $20 a piece, and the money went right to the command staff with little to no record of where the money was spent.

Earlier Friday, Constable Trevino went before the grand jury to testify for the second time. More than 165 people were interviewed during the grand jury's investigation.

In past interviews, Trevino acknowledged that he became lax. On Friday, Trevino's attorney insisted the constable never lined his owned pockets.

"Not one witness in all that they called, not one record said that Victor Trevino used any of this money to personally enrich himself," said attorney Chip Lewis.

He called the indictment a "product of old school law enforcement meets modern regulations," referring to the fact that Trevino is not a professional accountant.

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett told us on Friday that Trevino should step aside immediately, at least until the charges are settled. Texas law allows Trevino to serve under indictment. And his lawyer says Trevino plans to do just that.

If convicted, Trevino could go to prison for 24 years. He faces up to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine if convicted on the misapplication charge and six months to two years in state jail and up to a $10,000 fine on the other charges if convicted.

This is the latest in a series of county employees indicted on felony charges in the past year.

You probably remember the scene outside FBI headquarters just hours after former Harris County Constable Jack Abercia was arrested back in January. Abercia was charged in a 13 count indictment that accused him of bribery and conspiracy.

Just days before Abercia's arrest, former Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole pled guilty to lying to investigators as part of a deal to avoid jail time. He was originally accused of accepting bribes.

All three of these indictments followed extensive 13 Undercover investigations. You can see those reports on abc13.com anytime by clicking on 13 Undercover tab on the left-hand side of the home page.

Stay with Eyewitness News and abc13.com for the latest on this story.

TREVINO SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS OF PROBATION

Ex-constable put on probation, fined and ordered to 150 hours of community service after pleading guilty amid fraud accusations

Former Harris County Precinct 6 constable Victor Trevino, who pleaded guilty in a public corruption case this month, was sentenced on Monday to 10 years of probation - avoiding incarceration for his criminal activity and capping a 40-year law enforcement career by becoming a felon.

He faced a maximum of 10 years in prison.

Trevino, 62, also was fined $1,000 and ordered to perform 150 hours of community service. Prosecutors and the former constable's defense team were working to determine a restitution figure.

Before 185th District Criminal Court Judge Susan Brown handed down the sentence, Trevino testified: "I pleaded guilty because I am guilty."

He said that his admission to a single count of misapplication of fiduciary property, a third-degree felony, was associated with his lack of oversight as the president of CARE, a charity he founded a few years after he was elected constable in 1988.

When asked by prosecutor Bill Moore if he used his position of trust as a public servant and his leadership of the nonprofit for personal gain, Trevino said no, but expressed regret that his actions had caused "suspicion" and "confusion."

Trevino pleaded guilty on Nov. 3, one day after trial began on allegations that he diverted money from his charity for personal use.

The three-hour sentencing hearing on Monday included testimony from Harris County District Attorney's Office fraud examiner George Jordan. He detailed Trevino's wrongdoing by connecting cashed CARE checks to deposits in Trevino's personal bank accounts that were closely timed to the constable's trips to casinos and lottery ticket purchases. The fraud examiner's testimony also noted the lack of additions to the nonprofit's account in the weeks before and after certain fundraising events. The analysis showed at least $124,000 in cash deposits to Trevino or his wife's personal accounts from 2008 to 2011.

Financially unstable

The investigation led the fraud examiner to a surprising conclusion about a veteran lawman whose annual household income exceeded $200,000: "He appeared to not be as financially stable as I expected."

The defense called character witnesses for the former constable, including his younger sister, Nelly Trevino Santos - a lawyer and Houston municipal court administrator - and eldest son, Victor Trevino III, a public school teacher.

Trevino Santos recounted the family of nine children's impoverished East End upbringing. The constable's son spoke admirably of his father's story as a Mexican immigrant who became a HPD officer and then a trusted law enforcement leader who remained committed to the community who nurtured him. Part of his father's efforts to ensure poor kids had the equipment they needed for Little League teams had been through CARE - the Constable's Athletic Recreational and Educational Events Inc.

Harsher than asked for

Both asked Brown to sentence Trevino to deferred adjudication, which would have allowed the former constable to sidestep a felony on his record. The judge rendered a harsher punishment.

Upon leaving the courtroom, Trevino offered a brief statement, saying, in part: "I will continue to serve our community as the court wishes and I will comply with the orders of the court. To all the people: I thank them for their support."

After the sentencing, prosecutor Moore said he thought probation was appropriate because Trevino never admitted responsibility for his wrongdoing.

"This closes a very dark chapter at Precinct 6. I can only hope now that the hard-working deputies at Precinct 6 can be judged on their policing skills as opposed to their ability to raise money to line the constable's pockets," the Harris County assistant district attorney said.

'10 years is a long time'

The sentence incensed former Precinct 6 employees who said they were wrongly terminated.

"He should have gotten jail time," said Lisa Bullocks, who said her attorney will be refiling her employment discrimination case now that Trevino has pleaded guilty to corruption.

Takila James, a former Precinct 6 sergeant for Gulfgate Mall, said she was fired in June because of a clerical error and has an open U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint.

"We gave money, trusting him, and he used this money for his personal gain," she said. "He still fails to take responsibility ... but 10 years of probation is a long time to be straight and narrow."

East End community members met Monday night to discuss the candidates they'd like to see replace Trevino, who resigned on Nov. 11.

Harris County commissioners must select someone to serve out the remaining two years of the former constable's four-year term. A replacement is expected to be announced on Tuesday when commissioners officially canvass the results of the Nov. 4 election.

A TREVINO RUNNING AGAIN FOR HOUSTON'S EAST END CONSTABLE

Less than a year after long-time Precinct 6 Constable Victor Trevino pleaded guilty in a public corruption case, his wife is running for his former seat.

Less than year after Silvia Trevino stood by her husband Victor in a Harris County criminal courtroom as he pleaded guilty in a public corruption case, she is running for her husband's old job as constable of Precinct 6.

"I pleaded guilty because I am guilty," Victor Trevino said Nov. 17, just before District Criminal Court Judge Susan Brown handed down a sentence of 10 years probation, a fine and 150 hours of community service.

He resigned minutes after entering his guilty plea.

Victor Trevino held the job since 1988, and with 'Trevino' campaign signs sprouting up throughout Houston's East End and with Victor and Silvia Trevino participating in parades and community events, you might think nothing has changed.

"Some people would sulk and sit around and get fat," said political consultant Marc Campos, who ran Victor Trevino's last campaign. "He continued to go out there."

Victor Trevino's guilty plea was for misapplication of fiduciary property, a third-degree felony, in connection with the constable's charity created to help kids and seniors in the largely Hispanic district.

During his trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Victor Trevino misused between $20,000 and $100,000 of charity funds.

Victor Trevino took checks from the charity, cashed them at an East End convenience store, and days later took large amounts of cash to Louisiana casinos, using some of the charity's money to gamble, prosecutors showed.

In addition, Victor Trevino told the grand jury he never went to the casinos without his wife.

"My wife and I are the only ones who ever went to the casinos," he told the grand jury. "I never went by myself and she never went by herself."

As part of the case against Victor Trevino, prosecutors submitted calendars detailing 10 casino trips over several years days or sometimes hours after charity checks were cashed or charity fundraisers held.

His lawyer disputed the exact amounts played at the casino.

Silvia Trevino, a former law enforcement officer, was never charged with any wrongdoing or called as a witness.

Will voters remember the scandal surrounding Victor Trevino?

"He pled out and he's serving the first year of 10 years on probation, but she's the one who will run the office," Campos said.

As of today, it's impossible for the public to know if Silvia Trevino knew that the money she was gambling with may have been charity proceeds. The family's well-known criminal defense attorney, Chip Lewis, said that Silvia Trevino declined comment to Eyewitness News,

And Campos says voters may go against conventional wisdom and ignore the controversy.

"After 40 years in politics, nothing surprises me," he said.

Trevino won't be alone in the race for Precinct 6 Constable. It is anticipated the field will be crowded and will likely include the man appointed to fill Victor Trevino's term, Heliodoro Martinez.

The election for the job will be held November 2016, but most races in the heavily Democratic East End are decided in the party primary in March.

EX-PRECINCT 6 'LIAISON' ARRESTED BY DEA AGENTS

HOUSTON -- SkyEye HD was overhead as DEA agents made a bust in an exclusive Houston neighborhood. It's a developing story with connections to the constable controversy we've been exposing. We're focusing not on the bust itself, but on the guy who agents busted. Wait until you see what the DEA found when they got inside his house.

For a constable already under criminal investigation, this can't be good news -- the DEA on Tuesday morning busting a house in the pricey Rice Village area, Precinct 6 constables there to help.

See the guy in the back of the patrol car? He's Richard Romero. He was arrested on a warrant out of Atlanta. The feds say they brought in the dogs on a Harris County search warrant.

We don't know what the DEA found, if anything, in the house but we do know they found a police ID from Victor Trevino's office.

No, Romero's not a deputy, but while wearing handcuffs, he confirmed he was a "community liaison for Precinct 6." What exactly does that mean? He told us he rides along, donates money. He called himself a Precinct 6 lackey and he does donate.

Back in May, he wrote a check for $4,000 to the charity Constable Trevino founded called CARE. We've been investigating where the CARE money went for months.

"That has nothing to do with it, I help him raise funds," Romero told us.

Romero told us months ago he gave Precinct 6 mountain bikes to replace cars they were losing in the budget cuts.

The donation was well known at Precinct 6. Former clerk Anna Nunez has detailed alleged wrongdoing in Precinct 6.

"The $4,000 check was made out payable to CARE, deposited into CARE's account, but the bikes were never purchased," Nunez said.

But when we talked to Trevino in July, he claimed he didn't know the donation was for bikes.

If you want to give a donation to CARE, you give it because you believe in the charity and what it's about, not with any stipulation," he said.

What may be most troubling now is what else the constable is now claiming he didn't know about Romero.

"Neither Constable Trevino nor any of these arresting deputies were aware Mr. Romero was a community liaison. Upon notification, the constable terminated Mr. Romero's status and secured his credentials," Trevino's attorney, Chip Lewis, told us.

HOUSTON -- SkyEye HD was overhead as DEA agents made a bust in an exclusive Houston neighborhood. It's a developing story with connections to the constable controversy we've been exposing. We're focusing not on the bust itself, but on the guy who agents busted. Wait until you see what the DEA found when they got inside his house.

For a constable already under criminal investigation, this can't be good news -- the DEA on Tuesday morning busting a house in the pricey Rice Village area, Precinct 6 constables there to help.

See the guy in the back of the patrol car? He's Richard Romero. He was arrested on a warrant out of Atlanta. The feds say they brought in the dogs on a Harris County search warrant.

We don't know what the DEA found, if anything, in the house but we do know they found a police ID from Victor Trevino's office.

No, Romero's not a deputy, but while wearing handcuffs, he confirmed he was a "community liaison for Precinct 6." What exactly do Makes you wonder who else has Precinct 6 credentials the constable claims he doesn't know about.

This arrest is shining light on the practice of some constable's offices to give out police IDs to people who aren't real deputies.