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Title: Alcohol Sold Illegally at Texas Convention of Liquor Cops
Source:
CopBlock
URL Source: http://www.copblock.org/168809/alco ... xas-convention-of-liquor-cops/
Published: Dec 3, 2016
Author: Brian Sumner
Post Date: 2016-12-03 21:36:27 by Hondo68
Keywords: jail for selling alcoho, without a permit, photo with Snoop Dogg
Views: 3894
Comments: 11
Originally published at LawFlog.com by Ty Clevenger Oh, the irony. The executive director of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission allowed illegal alcohol sales at a regional conference of state liquor cops in Austin, according to a retired TABC supervisor, and that could lead to criminal charges against the director and one of her cronies. The agency also paid its deputy executive director more than $12,000 per month to attend a police academy full-time at government expense, even though his job does not involve any law enforcement duties (more on that below). Darryl Darnell, a retired TABC supervisor who now works as a deputy constable, filed a complaint on November 7, 2016 against Executive Director Sherry Cook because the National Conference of State Liquor Administrators sold alcohol without a permit during its September conference. That might not be a big deal but for two things: (1) as chairwoman of NCSLA’s southern region, Ms. Cook presumably was in charge of the conference; and (2) Ms. Cook’s agency sends regular people to jail for selling alcohol without a permit. And then there’s what happened after Mr. Darnell filed his complaint. On Monday, TABC Captain Andy Pena called to speak with Williamson County Pct. 2 Constable Rick Coffman (Mr. Darnell’s current employer), but he was routed to Sgt. Leo Enriquez. I spoke with Sgt. Enriquez yesterday, and he told me that Captain Pena said he was calling as a “professional courtesy” to let Constable Coffman know that Mr. Darnell had filed a complaint against Ms. Cook, whom he identified as the TABC executive director. That phone call might be a felony. According to Texas Penal Code § 39.06(b), “[a] public servant commits an offense if with intent to obtain a benefit or with intent to harm or defraud another, he discloses or uses information for a nongovernmental purpose that: (1) he has access to by means of his office or employment; and (2) has not been made public.” Mr. Darnell filed his complaint against Ms. Cook solely as a private citizen, and he made no mention of the fact that he worked for the constable. So why did Captain Pena call the constable? Mr. Darnell has been a thorn in TABC’s side since his retirement last year. Several weeks ago, for example, he notified Senator Charles Schwertner, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, that TABC was planning to spend $60,000 for new badges that it did not need. On Saturday, Mr. Darnell forwarded to Ms. Cook an email that he received from an aide to Senator Schwertner indicating that the committee intended to investigate that expenditure. Now recall that Mr. Darnell filed his complaint against Ms. Cook on November 7, but Captain Pena did not call the constable’s office until three weeks later on November 28. Why the delay? I’m sure Ms. Cook was angry about the complaint, but I suspect the email from Schwertner’s staff over the weekend was the straw that broke the camel’s back, prompting Captain Pena to call the constable’s office on Monday. If the constable could pressure Mr. Darnell to find another hobby, that could solve a lot of headaches at TABC. Earlier today I sent a letter to the Texas Rangers and Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg asking them to investigate both the illegal alcohol sales and the phone call from Captain Pena. Stay tuned. RULES FOR THEE AND NONE FOR ME Readers of this blog may recall some of my prior dealings with Captain Pena, a.k.a. “Captain Cover-Up,” who is the director of TABC’s office of internal affairs. We first crossed paths when a client, State Trooper Billy Spears, filed a misconduct complaint against TABC Sergeant Marcus Stokke. Rather than investigate the sergeant, Captain Cover-Up called his former colleagues at the Texas Department of Public Safety and initiated an investigation of Trooper Spears. That ultimately led to a federal lawsuit after Trooper Spears was reprimanded for allowing himself to be photographed with Snoop Dogg at SXSW. In June, I started blogging about widespread misconduct at TABC, and I’ve since been deluged with new information about TABC corruption. Unfortunately, I don’t get paid to blog, and I haven’t had much opportunity to write about the new evidence, but let me share a few snippets that might interest the public. Multiple TABC sources have told me that senior administrators (including Ms. Cook) have obtained peace officer commissions even though the jobs of these administrators do not involve law enforcement duties. Why? Once they are classified as law enforcement officers, these pencil pushers get take-home cars and better retirement benefits. The car alone is a pretty nice perk, especially if you’re commuting from the suburbs into Austin every day, because you no longer have to pay for gas or the upkeep of your work car. Consider the case of Ed Swedberg, the deputy executive director of TABC and Ms. Cook’s top deputy. According to heavily-redacted records that I obtained throught the Texas Public Information Act, Mr. Swedberg was paid his full salary of more than $12,000 per month while he attended the University of Texas police academy full time between February and June of this year, plus TABC paid his full tuition and all related expenses. I defy anyone to find another government official in the State of Texas who was paid a six-figure salary to attend a police academy at government expense. Normally, TABC law enforcement agents already have graduated from a police academy (at their own expense or the expense of a previous employer) and obtained certification before they are hired. Some agencies hire civilians and pay their way through an academy, but many (like TABC) do not. Before I became a deputy sheriff in 1997, for example, and while I was attending the police academy at the University of Houston-Downtown, I delivered pizzas on evenings and weekends to help cover my own expenses. Thanks to the culture of cronyism and corruption at TABC, however, some employees get special privileges. Consider the case of Andrew Nicolas Pena, son of Captain Cover-Up and classmate of Mr. Swedberg at the UT police academy this year. The junior Mr. Pena was also a civilian employee of TABC, but like Mr. Swedberg, he was paid his full salary of more than $3,000 per month while he attended the academy at taxpayer expense. That smells like nepotism to me. As director of internal affairs, Captain Pena is responsible for insuring that TABC employees comply with the law and the ethical standards of the agency. And yet somehow his own son gets a sweetheart deal to attend the police academy on the government dime. That should tell you everything you need to know about the senior leadership of the TABC (and I have to wonder if Captain Cover-Up wasn’t trying to repay a favor to Ms. Cook when he made that phone call to the constable’s office). *** I have uploaded a full copy of the records that I obtained from TABC via my open records request. As I would expect, TABC buried the stuff about junior and Mr. Swedberg toward the end. Poster Comment: Book 'em Danno!
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#1. To: hondo68, Gatlin, GrandIsland, misterwhite, Roscoe, cop apoligists (#0)
(Edited)
But, but, but....CopBlock is a "Fake News" site - just ask tater. Never mind that this is totally documented with links to credible sources. If a site prints anything Gatslime doesn't like, is critical of cops ot expresses a viewpoint that dissents from the official narrative, it's "Fake News". And Gatlin keeps claiming he's a "truthseeker" What a sick joke! Roscoe and paulsen on the other hand will dismiss this as trivial. Fire Island of course will chime in with another of his usual insane rants. Cop Block is a grassroots Libertarian anti-police organization with an agenda working to make police bad. Cop Block is a totally unreliable source for news….it is strictly Yellow Journalism.
MORE>> http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/does-a-lancaster-county-community-s-support-for-first-responders/article_898ede36-b1a7-11e6-b067-0bb92816241e.html Jim Jones suicide cult? The complaint fails to allege facts sufficient, if true, to prove the illegal sale of alcoholic beverages. - - - - - - - - - - https://www.tabc.state.tx.us/laws/code/84th/AllTitles.pdf Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code (1) manufacture, distill, brew, sell, possess for the purpose of sale, import into this state, export from this state, transport, distribute, warehouse, or store liquor; (2) solicit or take orders for liquor; or (3) for the purpose of sale, bottle, rectify, blend, treat, fortify, mix, or process liquor. (b) A person may manufacture, distill, brew, sell, import, export, transport, distribute, warehouse, store, possess, possess for the purpose of sale, bottle, rectify, blend, treat, fortify, mix, or process liquor, or possess equipment or material designed for or capable of use for manufacturing liquor, if the right or privilege of doing so is granted by this code. (c) A right or privilege granted by this section as an exception to prohibitions contained elsewhere in this code may be exercised only in the manner provided. An act done by a person which is not permitted by this code is unlawful. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Texas Penal Code Sec. 36.08. GIFT TO PUBLIC SERVANT BY PERSON SUBJECT TO HIS JURISDICTION. (a) A public servant in an agency performing regulatory functions or conducting inspections or investigations commits an offense if he solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit from a person the public servant knows to be subject to regulation, inspection, or investigation by the public servant or his agency. (b) A public servant in an agency having custody of prisoners commits an offense if he solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit from a person the public servant knows to be in his custody or the custody of his agency. (c) A public servant in an agency carrying on civil or criminal litigation on behalf of government commits an offense if he solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit from a person against whom the public servant knows litigation is pending or contemplated by the public servant or his agency. (d) A public servant who exercises discretion in connection with contracts, purchases, payments, claims, or other pecuniary transactions of government commits an offense if he solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit from a person the public servant knows is interested in or likely to become interested in any contract, purchase, payment, claim, or transaction involving the exercise of his discretion. (e) A public servant who has judicial or administrative authority, who is employed by or in a tribunal having judicial or administrative authority, or who participates in the enforcement of the tribunal's decision, commits an offense if he solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit from a person the public servant knows is interested in or likely to become interested in any matter before the public servant or tribunal. (f) A member of the legislature, the governor, the lieutenant governor, or a person employed by a member of the legislature, the governor, the lieutenant governor, or an agency of the legislature commits an offense if he solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit from any person. (g) A public servant who is a hearing examiner employed by an agency performing regulatory functions and who conducts hearings in contested cases commits an offense if the public servant solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit from any person who is appearing before the agency in a contested case, who is doing business with the agency, or who the public servant knows is interested in any matter before the public servant. The exception provided by Sec. 36.10(b) does not apply to a benefit under this subsection. (h) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor. (i) A public servant who receives an unsolicited benefit that the public servant is prohibited from accepting under this section may donate the benefit to a governmental entity that has the authority to accept the gift or may donate the benefit to a recognized tax-exempt charitable organization formed for educational, religious, or scientific purposes. Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 915, ch. 342, Sec. 11, eff. Sept. 1, 1975; Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3238, ch. 558, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1983; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 304, Sec. 4.04, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994. - - - - - - - - - - http://lawflog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2016.11.07-Complaint-against-Sherry-Cook.pdf THE COMPLAINT “As your conference host, TABC is here to show you what we love about Austin. We will host a conference with…….. A Saloon (hospitality suite) available for fun and networking.” The Executive director of the TABC allowed the sale/service of alcoholic beverages at the TABC hosted NCSLA Conference while the NCLSA was charging admission to the conference and the admission included alcoholic beverage sold or served inside the TABC hosted hospitality suite. The alcoholic beverages were restricted only to paying conference attendees. TABC has advised that there is no record of an alcohol license or permit being issued for this event. - - - - - - - - - - It was at the Radisson Hotel and Suites. Did the Radisson have a license to make available or serve alcolohic beverages? By Carol Christian The state alcohol commission's own watchdog is looking into whether the agency violated Texas laws by selling alcoholic drinks without a license at a convention of liquor administrators. "We are investigating it right now," Chris Porter, spokesman for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, said Friday. The investigation is being conducted by the commission's Office of Professional Responsibility, said Porter, who declined to comment further while the investigation is in process. The complaint, filed Nov. 7 by Darryl Darnell of Georgetown, alleges that the TABC's executive director allowed the sale and service of alcoholic beverages at the National Conference of State Liquor Administrators. Hosted by the TABC, the conference took place Sept. 25-28 at the Radisson Hotel and Suites in Austin, according to the complaint. Paid admission to the conference included alcoholic drinks served in the hospitality suite hosted by the TABC, according to the complaint. "The alcoholic beverages were restricted only to paying conference attendees," the complaint states. "TABC has advised that there is no record of an alcohol license or permit being issued for this event." Although Porter said he couldn't comment on that specific complaint, he said the law in general allows anyone to give away alcohol without a permit as long as no money changes hands. "Nail salons do it quite frequently," he said. "You can give away alcohol without having to have a permit as long as you are prepared to give it to any adult of legal age, whether they bought a ticket to the event or not." Assuming the hospitality suite was not a forum to the general public, the only people in attendance were the paying conference attendees and the Radisson staff. There is no allegation here beyond people buying convention tickets and the convention featuring a hospitality suite where alcoholic beverages were served or made available at no charge.
And right on cue!! Never mind that this is totally documented with links to credible sources. If a site prints anything Gatslime doesn't like, is critical of cops ot expresses a viewpoint that dissents from the official narrative, it's "Fake News" or worse, "yellow journalism.". Your idiocy is astounding. I thought this was hilarious Trooper Billy L. Spears and Snoop Dogg at the SXSW concert in Austin. You have a warped sense of humor ...
It wasn't posted for your amusement queerbait, we all know that communists (like you) have no sense of humor.
That is not true! The article states that an investigation is being conducted into a complaint that alleges … You need to understand the difference between an investigation and a documented final report of the investigation. This will be totally documented (as you say) after and only AFTER the thorough investigation has been completed. Your warped rational causes you all kinds of problems. You should not post unreliable news stories and you should not make malicious claims.
That does nothing to explain your warped sense of humor ...
I have never read so many words condemming such petty BULLSHIT in my life. The author must think he's the next Woodward or Bernstein uncovering the equivalent of Watergate. Someone needs to get a f**king life.
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards."
#2. To: Deckard (#1)
#3. To: Deckard, BARF ALERT, Gatlin, GrandIsland, misterwhite, Roscoe, boot lickers (#1)
Community paints blue stripe in middle of road to honor cops
The "anti-establishment" establishment
#4. To: hondo68, Gatlin, GrandIsland (#0)
Darryl Darnell, a retired TABC supervisor who now works as a deputy constable, filed a complaint on November 7, 2016 against Executive Director Sherry Cook because the National Conference of State Liquor Administrators sold alcohol without a permit during its September conference.
Violation of sections 11.01, 61.01 of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code & 36.08 of the Texas Penal Code.
Sec. 11.01. PERMIT REQUIRED. (a) No person who has not first obtained a permit of the type required for the privilege exercised may, in a wet area, do any of the following:
Sec. 61.01. LICENSE REQUIRED. No person may manufacture or brew beer for the purpose of sale, import it into this state, distribute or sell it, or possess it for the purpose of sale without having first obtained an appropriate license or permit as provided in this code. Each licensee shall display his license at all times in a conspicuous place at the licensed place of business.
Penal Code 36.08 on 7/18/2015
The TABC hosted the NCSLA 2016 SOUTHERN/NORTHERN REGIONAL CONFERENCE, September 25-28, 2016 at the Radisson Hotel and Suites, Austin, Texas and while doing so the TABC also hosted a Hospitality Suite that included the serving or making available alcoholic beverages to paying conference attendees. The below is taken directly from the event flyer.
State investigating whether TABC violated liquor laws at state convention
Published 4:09 pm, Friday, December 2, 2016
#5. To: Gatlin (#2)
Cop Block is a totally unreliable source for news….it is strictly Yellow Journalism.
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards."
#6. To: hondo68 (#3)
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards."
#7. To: Deckard (#6)
#8. To: Gatlin (#7)
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards."
#9. To: Deckard (#5)
Never mind that this is totally documented with links to credible sources.
#10. To: Deckard (#8)
(Edited)
#11. To: hondo68 (#0)
"... after Trooper Spears was reprimanded for allowing himself to be photographed with Snoop Dogg at SXSW."
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