City Manager Arrested As Council Takes Steps To Fire Him

EAGLE PASS, Texas (AP) – The scandal-plagued city manager of this border town was arrested and accused of fraudulently getting his government job after it was revealed he lied on his resume, authorities said.

The arrest came less than an hour after Eagle Pass City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to take steps to fire Glen Starnes.

Maverick County Sheriff Tomas S. Herrera said Starnes was charged with fraudulently getting a government job. He was released on $5,000 bail.

The misdemeanor charge could result in up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine. Starnes, reached Wednesday by The Associated Press, said his understanding was that he was fired Tuesday from the job, which he took last summer.

“I will say that I respect the decision of the council and the mayor,” said Starnes, who said he is arranging for a lawyer.

“When I arrived in Eagle Pass, I did clearly explain to all of them that my past prior to my arrival here was tarnished and that I had a questionable background and that I was attempting to change that part of my life.”

A San Antonio Express-News investigation found that Starnes didn’t work as an assistant city manager in the San Antonio suburb of Converse or as an aide to former U.S. Rep. Jack Fields of Houston as he had claimed.

Starnes has acknowledged only to lying about working in Converse. He confirmed that Wednesday, but maintained he was an intern for Fields. Starnes also did not earn three degrees from the University of Maryland East Shore Rockville either, the newspaper found. No such school exists.

Starnes later said he got the degrees from Rochville University, which sells degrees online, promising “no studies, no attendance, no waiting, and no examinations.” Rochville University is listed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as a suspect institution.

“These were online degrees that I obtained and I thought they were valid,” Starnes said. Starnes said that when he submitted his resume, it was a “paste and cut with spelling errors, date errors. I just grabbed something and threw it in the mail.”

“I have readily admitted my mistakes. I have never tried to hide them,” Starnes said. “But I can tell you this: I stand by my record in Eagle Pass from day one until yesterday.”

The council started an investigation into Starnes in December. On Tuesday, he was suspended without pay. The council had originally been considering a vote to make Starnes the city’s permanent manager but changed course after the fabrications emerged.

“Once the investigation was completed, it was an easy decision,” said Mayor Chad Foster.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)