Defense for former EPISD administrators files motion for mistrial

Defense attorneys in the trial of five former El Paso Independent School District administrators filed a motion for a mistrial Monday, citing possible government misconduct.

The motion for a mistrial points to documents filed by assistant U.S. Attorneys on Friday and Sunday. The defense argues the documents should have been disclosed long ago.

“You had years to prepare for this trial,” Judge David Briones told U.S. Attorneys Monday morning. “I am very disturbed. Not not only for the two weeks we’ve already spent on this trial, but because it means so much to the people of this community.”

Briones granted a one day continuance in the trial, which has featured the government presenting its case for 10 consecutive days through dozens of witnesses. Briones told the jury of six men and six women testimony will continue Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. He instructed Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Kanof to file a reply to the motion by Wednesday morning.

According to the motion for a mistrial, the documents include an email confirming a decision to fire Austin High School shop teacher Ruben Cordero in Spring of 2012 and “a timeline prepared by an EPISD human resources investigator which shows that Cordero complained about retaliation due to ‘his involvement with the FBI’ a week before he ever spoke to the FBI.”

The motion goes on to state that on Sunday at about 5 p.m., Myrna Gamboa, the former EPISD director of priority schools, “who was to be a government witness, appeared to be accusing the FBI of falsifying evidence against her.” Gamboa pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government in 2014 and was sentenced to five years probation in January of 2015.

The motion also points to a need for the defense to review 249 more pages of documents provided by the government at about 5 p.m. Sunday, including “a prosecution memo authored by one of the FBI agents reveals that the government believed Vanessa Foreman lied to FBI agents … detailing three specific lies that the government believes she told.”

Foreman, a former EPISD director of priority schools, testified last week for the government. She has already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government and is scheduled to be sentenced in July.

“The defense has been significantly and irreparably damaged by this late disclosure, two weeks into the trial,” the motion states. “All defense counsel whose clients are charged with retaliation could have mentioned this evidence in opening statements, because it is so damning to the government’s theory of the case.”

Former Austin High Assistant Principals Mark Tegmeyer, Diane Thomas and Nancy Love have been charged with retaliation against a witness or victim. Former EPISD Associate Superintendent James Anderson and former Austin High Principal John Tanner are facing charges of conspiracy to defraud the government.

“It was just a very troubling posture for the court to find itself in,” said Tanner’s defense attorney Liz Rogers. “EPISD is going to fire (Cordero). A day later he squawks he’s an FBI informant, before he ever went to the FBI.”

Judge Briones called the jury back into the courtroom Monday, before dismissing them for the day.

“Sorry for keeping you this morning,” Briones told the jury. “But you’re going to be waiting a little more. Materials were provided over the weekend by the prosecution and the defense has asked for a one day continuance and I’m going to give it to them. You’re being excused this morning to be here tomorrow morning.”