Activist files request to open corruption inquiry documents

03/27/2008

By Gustavo Reveles Acosta / El Paso Times

U.S. District Judge Frank Montalvo should open the extensive collection of documents tied to the FBI public corruption case or file paperwork explaining why the court papers should remain sealed, an El Paso civil-rights activist said in a motion filed Wednesday in the Western District of Texas.

Carl Starr filed the motion on his behalf after he read an El Paso Times report outlining the long list of documents regarding the FBI corruption case that have not been made public.

"I started doing some legal research and found that (Montalvo) should be making findings and entering them into the record in order to weigh the compelling interest of the government against the First Amendment," Starr said.

"If he can find a good enough reason to seal the documents, then he should put it on the record."

The U.S. attorney's office said the two people authorized to speak to the press about Starr's motion were out of the office until Monday. Officials of the U.S. attorney's office in San Antonio could not be reached for comment.

Seven people -- including former county commissioners, school trustees, civic employees and contractors -- have pleaded guilty behind closed doors in Montalvo's court since the FBI announced last year that it was looking into widespread corruption throughout the county.

The investigation has touched virtually every government in El Paso.

Starr said he didn't think opening documents would hurt the investigation, especially if the court blacked out critical information that need not be made public.

"I'm glad the investigation is happening," he said. "But it should not be done in secrecy because that's dangerous."