[May 18, 2013] Murder case probed in ex-DA trial Tweet May 18, 2013 (Valley Morning Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Witnesses testified Friday that former Cameron County District Attorney Armando R. Villalobos suggested that the husband of a murdered woman file a civil wrongful death lawsuit and also recommended his ex-law partner Eduardo "Eddie" Lucio for the job. Mario Hernandez of Hidalgo County, husband of Hermila Hernandez who was shot to death by fugitive Amit Livingston in 2005, took the stand in federal court, testifying how it came to be that he filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Livingston and his father. "He recommended me Eddie Lucio," Hernandez testified, referring to Villalobos. Former Assistant District Attorney Rebecca RuBane, who worked on the murder case, supported Hernandez's testimony soon thereafter. "He said, 'you should hire Eddie Lucio'," RuBane said, testifying to what she said she heard Villalobos tell Hernandez. RuBane testified that during a meeting in her office that she was having with Hernandez about the murder case, Villalobos arrived in her office, introduced himself to Hernandez and told him that he should hire an attorney to sue for wrongful death, and recommended Lucio. RuBane said the whole exchange didn't take more than five minutes; Villalobos returned to his office, and she continued meeting with Hernandez. The developments came on Day 5 of Villalobos' trial in federal court in Brownsville before presiding U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen. The day included the continuing testimony of government witness Oscar de la Fuente Jr., an attorney, who has testified that he paid Villalobos for access and favorable treatment of his clients. The witnesses Friday were called to the stand by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Wynne and Greg Surovic as the federal prosecutors continue to present the government's case against the former state prosecutor. Villalobos is charged with nine public-corruption offenses, including racketeering. Accusations include fashioning the terms of Livingston's plea agreement to include sentencing by ex-404th District Judge Abel C. Limas on Feb. 13, 2007, at the time Livingston entered a guilty plea to murder in order to free the $500,000 cash bond that Livingston's father had placed for his son. The cash bond was to settle the companion civil wrongful death lawsuit that Lucio filed on Hernandez's behalf. The alleged agreement also included allowing Livingston a 60-day pass to take care of business before reporting to prison. Limas signed off on the agreement, according to testimony. Livingston absconded. Of the $500,000, a total of $300,000 went to Hernandez's three children and $200,000 in attorney fees went to Lucio. Of the $200,000, prosecutors allege that Lucio transferred $80,000 to Villalobos, and that both gave Limas about $10,700 for judicial discretionary actions, including agreeing to keep silent and not investigate the terms of the plea agreement. After Villalobos' recommendation, Hernandez testified, he met Lucio at a restaurant and hired him. He said he also met with Lucio in the latter's office close to the federal and county courthouses in Brownsville. "He had barely moved in," Hernandez said, noting that he saw boxes in the office. Lucio came to practice in Brownsville from the Dallas area. Hernandez said the first day he learned of the 60-day pass was the day Livingston pleaded guilty. "The judge said he had 60 days to settle his stuff," Hernandez testified. Hernandez also testified that Lucio never asked him for any type of documentation or paperwork regarding himself or his children in relation to the civil lawsuit. On questions posed by Hanen, Hernandez testified that he doesn't recall if he signed an agreement with Lucio, and had not obtained a breakdown on the distribution of the money ($500,000) or how much would go to attorney fees. After De la Fuente's cross-examination by defense attorney Joel M. Androphy Thursday, Wynne again questioned De la Fuente, who in the course of his testimony Friday said that when he gave Villalobos money, he would take it out of his wallet, fold it and hand it over to Villalobos. At times, he said, he would place the money on Villalobos' desk and Villalobos would slide the money into a drawer. De la Fuente said that Villalobos never refused the money, and never provided a receipt for it. De la Fuente also testified that bondsman Frank Cisneros had forged his name on a document in Limas' court and that he talked to Villalobos about pursuing charges against Cisneros and that Villalobos told him with a smirk: " 'You really don't want to go there'." Wynne also displayed public records showing that in April 16, 2008, De la Fuente gave Villalobos a $5,000 campaign contribution. De la Fuente testified that Villalobos went to him and told him that he had a lot of cash. According to De la Fuente, Villalobos gave him $3,000 in cash and told him to write a check for $5,000. The remaining $2,000 would be what De la Fuente would contribute, he said. De la Fuente said that Villalobos wanted "to hide or launder cash." On Wynne's questions, De la Fuente further testified that the $5,000 check was a "CYA" -- "Cover your ... (expletive)" maneuver. De la Fuente also testified that he helped relatives of Villalobos get jobs with the San Benito school district when he, De la Fuente, was on the board of trustees. Wynne also reviewed the non-prosecution agreement that De la Fuente has with the U.S. Attorney's Office which specifies that, besides being barred from federal court for three years, the State Bar of Texas may at its discretion take remedial action against De la Fuente. It also was pointed out that De la Fuente cannot automatically start practicing in federal court after three years; he would have to reapply to be able to do so. De la Fuente also testified on examination by Wynne that he never paid anything to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angel Castro, Oscar Ponce, Mark Dowd, or Joe Esquivel and that they have never paid him anything. De la Fuente also testified that he was never shown any documents regarding the investigation. Wynne also showed that assistant district attorneys in the Brownsville office and the other offices in the U.S. Southern District of Texas had all been recused, except for Wynne, from investigating the case, and that the Western District of Texas had been appointed on the DA case instead. Referring to the defense's notation that the U.S. Attorney's office had not required that De la Fuente take an ethics class, Wynne wrote on paper: "Do not pay a judge." "Do not pay the DA," he also wrote. "Class over," he said. [email protected] ___ (c)2013 Valley Morning Star (Harlingen, Texas) Visit Valley Morning Star (Harlingen, Texas) at www.valleymorningstar.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]