Bexar Democratic chief hands info to FBI
Action is part of turmoil roiling the local party
The factional feud within the Bexar County Democratic Party reached new heights Wednesday, as the organization’s leader asked the FBI to investigate current and former party officials.
Chairwoman Monica Alcántara has said in the past that the organization engaged in sloppy record keeping under the administration of her predecessor, Manual Medina, who lost his re-election bid to her last year. She accused treasurer Stephanie Carrillo and secretary Garrett Mormando of withholding party documents.
But standing in front of the Bexar County Courthouse, Alcántara alleged the problems went beyond mismanagement. She announced she had taken numerous complaints to federal and state authorities for investigation and called on the party’s treasurer and secretary to resign.
“I cannot and will not pretend that the past four years were simply a different style of leadership,” Alcántara said.
Medina flatly denied Alcántara’s accusations.
“Democrats rallied to elect Ray Lopez last night, and it took Monica Al-
cántara less than 24 hours to once again divide the party,” he said, referring to Tuesday’s runoff for Texas House District 125. “Once her allegations are proven false, Alcántara should immediately resign and apologize to all Democrats she has so maliciously slandered.”
Carrillo and Mormando did not respond to numerous requests for comment Wednesday, but have denied wrongdoing in the past.
Mormando previously has questioned Alcántara’s right to the documents and said he kept them for “processing.”
Alcántara said the committee she charged with investigating the allegations couldn’t find any party financial records for 2017 and 2018. And from 2014 through 2016, Alcántara alleges, there’s no supporting documentation to substantiate more than $300,000 worth of expenses.
Those expenses include payment for block-walkers, canvassing and internships, among others, Alcántara said.
She said there were large cash donations to the party at the time that were not included on bank statements, and that the organization did not file required documents with the International Revenue Service.
“I originally thought the infighting was due to (the fact) there was new leadership,” Alcántara said Wednesday, adding that after she discovered the financial troubles, she now thinks Medina and his supporters just didn’t want the information to get out.
The accusations mark a new chapter in the chaos that has roiled the Democratic Party for more than a year.
After Alcántara defeated Medina last March, Medina and officials loyal to him — dubbed “Manuelistas” — have operated a renegade faction within the party.
The Medina supporters opened a second, unsanctioned party headquarters on the East Side, and they orchestrated the party’s endorsement last year of three controversial charter amendments pushed by the firefighters union, which Alcántara opposed.
Democrats here lost a Texas Senate special election last September amid the mayhem. And recently, clashes between the two sides at the party’s monthly meetings led their usual venue — Luby’s on North Main — to ban them from meeting there in the future.
A fight ensued at the party’s next meeting at a local VFW Post, whose commander issued a stern warning that they’d be expelled if the fighting continued.
The party didn’t list a March meeting on its calendar.
“This historic and important organization currently is unable to perform its most basic function: The official conduct of a meeting with qualified results,” Alcántara said Wednesday.
County Judge Nelson Wolff, a longtime San Antonio Democrat, said there’s always been infighting at the local party, but this quarrel might be unique given the seriousness of the charges.
“This one here is particularly nasty,” Wolff said. “We’ll see what happens.”
Alcántara relayed what she called the “serious allegations” at Wednesday’s news conference and asked Mormando and Carrillo to resign, though she acknowledged they likely wouldn’t heed that call. She said those two officials have refused to turn over party records since she took office in June 2018.
The new chair named a committee to conduct an internal investigation into the missing financial records. She said she had to hire a locksmith to gain entry into the two officials’ offices at the party’s headquarters.
“We found old records
left behind to be in an abysmal state, incomplete or unorganized,” Alcántara said. “What we’ve uncovered is nothing short of scandalous.”
Mormando previously has equated that move to the Watergate break-in.
Alcántara brought the committee’s findings to District Attorney Joe Gonzales and Sheriff Javier Salazar, who she said directed her to go to the FBI.
“The FBI acknowledges
receipt of this information,” FBI spokeswoman Michelle Lee said Wednesday.
Gonzales said he told Alcántara she had a duty to report the information. The district attorney, also a Democrat, said he likely would recuse himself if it came across his desk.
“Monica has proven to be a very dedicated and ethical chairwoman, and she certainly is seeking to do the right thing and expose any impropriety by any members of the party,” Gonzales told the San Antonio Express-News.
Salazar, also a Democrat, released a brief statement saying he felt federal investigators were a better avenue.
“Chairwoman Alcántara reached out and discussed her concerns with me,” Salazar said in the statement. “Based on the information presented I felt that the FBI was a more appropriate resource for her to present the information to.”