[September 05, 2011] Mexican mayor's brother tied to casino owner by video Tweet Monterrey, Mexico, Sep 5, 2011 (EFE via COMTEX) -- Mexico's Reforma newspaper released new videos over the weekend showing Manuel Jonas Larrazabal, the brother of Monterrey's mayor, and the city's human development secretary, Miguel Angel Garcia, apparently negotiating with a casino representative. The videos came out amid a scandal that has rocked the industrial city in the wake of the deaths of dozens of people on Aug. 25 at a casino torched by criminals who were reportedly not paid protection money by the establishment's owner. Manuel Jonas Larrazabal, who is under arrest, is being investigated for allegedly receiving payoffs from casinos. The videos, which were supposedly taken on May 7, show Larrazabal, brother of Monterrey Mayor Fernando Larrazabal, and Garcia speaking with Sergio Gil, a representative of the Red casino. The meeting took place because the casino had been shuttered by authorities for a few days, Reforma said, adding that the establishment reopened hours after the meeting. Manuel Jonas Larrazabal was arrested last Thursday by the Nuevo Leon state Attorney General's Office after several videos were posted on Reforma's Web site showing him receiving cash during visits to casinos. His defense attorney said the money was payment for the sale of "cheeses and mescal (a distilled alcoholic beverage)" from the southern state of Oaxaca to people linked to casinos in Monterrey. One of the videos was dated Aug. 19, just six days before suspected members of the Los Zetas drug cartel set fire to the Casino Royale in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon's capital, killing 52 people. Mayor Fernando Larrazabal, of the ruling conservative National Action Party, has denied any links with the scandal affecting his brother and ruled out the possibility of resigning. Six suspects have been arrested in connection with the massacre at the Casino Royale and authorities say another six perpetrators remain at large, in addition to the people who masterminded the attack. Five suspected Zetas in custody told investigators last week they did not plan to kill anyone and only wanted to intimidate the establishment's owners into paying. The suspects said they were scolded by their bosses for killing so many people at the casino, which was the target of an extortion racket common in several parts of Mexico, officials said. Owners of some Nuevo Leon casinos have complained that they are extorted by organized crime elements and also by the authorities, who threaten to shutter their establishments if payments are not made. President Felipe Calderon ordered an investigation of all the casinos in Mexico in response to the reports of widespread corruption involving the gaming industry. Home to many of Mexico's industrial giants, Monterrey long seemed immune to the drug war that has claimed more than 40,000 lives nationwide since December 2006, when Calderon militarized the struggle with the cartels. But the metropolis and its suburbs have been battered by a wave of drug-related violence since March 2010. EFE jd/hv [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]