Parra Resigns From County Board

By Stephanie Valle

EL PASO — The man accused of viewing and distributing child pornographyhas vacated his seat on a county board, County Commissioners said Monday.

Fernando Parra sent a letter to county officials, saying he is resigning from his appointed seat on the Civil Service Board. He urged the court to appoint a replacement to complete his term as soon as possible.

Parra was arrested in January and was charged with the receiving and distribution of child pornography. At the time, he was employed at the El Paso Independent School District headquarters. He was also a former employee of the District Clerk’s Office.

Former County Commissioner Betti Flores appointed Parra to fill one of the three seats on the Civil Service Commission in November 2006. Flores recently pleaded guilty to fraud and accepting bribes last July. Parra has also been implicated in the same public corruption investigation involving Flores.

The court agreed without discussion and Commissioner Veronica Escobar replaced Parra with Susanna Visconti, executive director of the Community Scholars program.

Escobar said Parra’s tenure on the board was problematic. “[He had] some attendance issues in addition to the fact that he refused to abstain from votes that had to do directly with his wife and the office his wife worked in,” she said.

His wife was employed at the County Clerk’s Office until she was fired last Monday.