Dr. Frank Kardasz: Misconduct, ethics violations and crimes by public officials often lead us to ask; What was he (or she) thinking?  If the violators in the story below had used some logical decision-making processes beforehand, perhaps the violations would not have occurred. 

Here is a link to a handy list of decision making process gathered from some knowledgeable sources: http://www.kardasz.org/Decision_Making_Tools.html

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Laredo, Texas - Ex-cops now reside in fed prisons 

05/12/2008 By Julian Aguilar, Laredo Morning Times (LMT online)

As Laredo waits to see who is chosen as police chief to bring integrity and unity back to the Laredo Police Department, three men responsible for LPD's recent woes find themselves hundreds of miles from the place they used to call home.Former police chief Agustin Dovalina, Sgt. Alfonso Santos and Lt. Eloy Rodriguez were each sentenced to about three years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge George P. Kazen last February.
 
The trio all pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiring to commit in a scam that saw more than $95,000 in cash wrenched from owners and operators of popular maquinita gambling establishments that were paying out more than state law permits.

The policemen took the cash in exchange for protecting the businesses from law enforcement interference.

Dovalina
Chris Adams, the public information officer for the federal detention center El Reno-FCI in Oklahoma confirmed Dovalina, 52, is currently serving his time at the medium-security facility.
The prison has an adjacent satellite camp on its premises that houses minimum-security inmates. The unit the former chief is serving his time in is not public information, however, according to Adams.

The facility is in Central Oklahoma, about 950 miles away from Laredo. According to the Bureau of Prisons Web site, Dovalina's projected date of release is November 2010. Adams said the date is contingent upon Dovalina steering clear of any trouble while serving his time.

Adams said that according to U.S. Bureau of Prisons policy, information concerning whether an inmate is assigned any work detail or other related information is not made available to the public unless written permission is granted by the inmate.

Santos
Santos, 52, is scheduled to be released from the FPC Duluth detention facility in Minnesota in September 2010, according to T.K. Rhodes, a prison spokeswoman.
The federal prison camp houses minimum-security offenders and is located on what used to be the Duluth Air Force Base near Lake Superior.

The detention center is halfway between Minneapolis and the Canadian border with the U.S. and is about 1,560 miles from Laredo.

Rodriguez
According to the Bureau of Prisons Web site, Rodriguez, 45, is serving his time in the USP Leavenworth detention facility in Leavenworth, Kan.
The facility is a medium-security prison but also has an adjacent satellite camp where minimum-security offenders are housed. Rodriguez's projected release date, according to the Web site, is December 2010. The facility is about 25 miles north of Kansas City, Kan. and 960 miles from Laredo.

Like Dovalina's release date, Santos' and Rodriguez's release dates may also be changed should the inmates run afoul of the rules of their respective facilities.

The bribery deal
Santos and Rodriguez were the first officers arrested in July 2007. The two were charged with accepting the bribes on an almost weekly basis in 2006 until November of that year when the transactions abruptly ended. Linh "Larry" Tuan Do, the former owner of the popular Entertainment World who initially did business with Rodriguez and later Santos, began cooperating with federal authorities and provided the evidence that led to the cops' arrests.
Rodriguez was also charged with multiple counts of cocaine possession but he and Santos agreed to cooperate with authorities and all charges, with the exception of conspiracy to commit extortion, were dropped.

The indictment also mentioned an unnamed co-conspirator that many assumed to be Dovalina because of his close relationship with Santos.

In October, Dovalina abruptly resigned as the chief of the Laredo Police Department. Four days later, the 30-year veteran of the force walked into Judge Kazen's courtroom and pleaded guilty to the same charge.

Restoring integrity
Since the scandal, city leaders have worked in earnest not only to find a new chief, but also to help restore integrity to the force and the city.
During sentencing, Kazen openly admonished all three former cops for smearing the reputation of the entire police force, which he said, was predominantly comprised of legitimate and honest cops.

Months after the scandal broke; the popular game rooms were still operating openly throughout the city.

Crackdown
In January, however, the police department began cracking down on the gambling parlors, seizing machines and cash and making arrests of operators and owners.
Once popular establishments that used to have overflowing parking lots even before nightfall now sit empty and abandoned. Some have fading "For Lease" signs while others have been transformed into restaurants or other businesses.

While Laredoans forget that the buildings were once hotbeds for illegal gambling, city officials undoubtedly hope the memories of the scandal that made headlines statewide will also begin to fade with time.

(Julian Aguilar may be reached at 728-2557 or by e-mail at jaguilar@lmtonline.com)

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