August 3rd Shooting Victim’s Husband…

ABC-7 has learned Anthony Basco, the man who gained national and international attention for inviting the public to his wife Margie Reckard’s funeral, is now living on the streets. Margie was shot and killed in the Aug. 3 shooting rampage at the Cielo Vista Walmart.

Anthony Basco says all the money donated to him has gone to buying flowers for Margie, food for himself and gas for his recently donated SUV.

But Basco claims he ran out of funds and was asked to leave his apartment in central El Paso for failure to pay the rent.

“I wash cars basically, to get her flowers, me gas, to come back and forth.” said Basco.

Asked if he had any other source of income, he responded: “No sir, none whatsoever.”

Basco spoke with ABC-7 near the makeshift memorial behind the Walmart store where he pulled up in his recently donated SUV towing an entire portable car wash system.

He showed ABC-7 where he sleeps several times a week and where he keeps some of his belongings inside the SUV.

“Technically speaking, yeah, I’m homeless.” Basco said.

The SUV was donated after he claimed his car with a car wash system was stolen.

Although Basco did not reveal how much money has been donated to him so far, he claims he does not have any knowledge of the “One El Paso Fund,” which is the group tasked with raising and distributing money to families of those died in the shooting — as well as surviving victims.

ABC-7 asked Basco why he doesn’t stop buying flowers and pay for a place to live?

“I just, I don’t know, I just feel I owe it to my wife. I mean, I’ll sleep on the streets the rest of my life if I have to,” Basco responded, adding that selling the SUV for money is out of the question.

Basco said since he’s run out of money, he is buying fewer flowers for his wife’s section of the memorial — which by all accounts is the largest one there.

Basco admits his life is spiraling downward.

His only hope, he admitted, is to eventually be able to draw from a GoFundMe account set up for him.

ABC-7 went to the apartment in central El Paso where he and Margie lived.

The landlord’s son said Basco simply stopped paying his rent.

“We’re not really asking for nothing, just for him to pay the rent. Or for him to move out because my parents need to rent that place because that’s the way they were getting their money to pay for their house.” said Andy Perez, the landlord’s son.

The apartment is currently locked.

Perez said the last time Basco returned to retrieve some of his belongings, Basco screamed at him and tossed a GoFundMe statement showing the amount of money raised so far.

That account is currently close to $41,000.

ABC-7 confronted Basco about the landlord’s claim, and Basco maintained he only owes one month’s back rent.

Perez said he was close to Margie and is hurt Margie met her fate last month at the hands of a lone gunman.

And he revealed Margie was not shopping at Walmart the day she died, but rather she was essentially panhandling.

“That’s the reason that Margie would go to Walmart daily, to ask for money,” Perez claimed.

But Basco said that statement was a bit inaccurate.

“She would not beg or ask for money. She held up a sign, that was it. That’s not begging. That’s soliciting,” responded Basco.

Basco maintains he did not ask his wife to go to Walmart and solicit money. But he also admits, he never stopped her from doing it.

KVIA 2019