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Sanchez
connected to drug money laundering
(AP) —Democratic
gubernatorial candidate Dan Morales said Monday opponent Tony Sanchez
should have known about drug money laundering at his Laredo savings
and loan in the 1980s.
“Let me
be clear: I do not allege that Mr. Sanchez knew that Mexican drug
money was being laundered through his business. But I absolutely
do believe that he should have known,” Morales said.
Morales, who
has pledged he won’t run a negative primary campaign against
Sanchez, said Sanchez’s business background should be scrutinized,
including his management of the failed Tesoro Savings and Loan.
Sanchez should
explain how $25 million in drug cartel money was laundered through
the thrift over 17 months in 1983 and 1984 and why Tesoro officials
wired $8 million of that money to an account in Panama as federal
agents were about to freeze those assets, Morales said.
At the time,
Sanchez was chairman and majority shareholder at Tesoro.
At a rally in
Austin later Monday, Sanchez said Morales is wrong and doesn’t
know the facts.
“These
are desperate acts of a desperate man,” Sanchez said. “The
polls are showing that he’s plummeting and that we’re
going to be victorious and I think these are very desperate acts.
I feel sorry for him because he’s falling apart.”
Last year, Sanchez
commented on the Tesoro probe involving two depositors and said
neither he nor any officer of the institution was accused of wrongdoing
and that they were exonerated by three federal agencies and a federal
judge.
Now that he
has raised questions about Sanchez’s savings and loan, Morales
may face more questions about his dealings with private attorneys
in the state’s $17.3 billion tobacco settlement, reached when
he was attorney general.
State and federal
investigators have been looking into contracts with private lawyers
hired to pursue the case, including a friend of Morales who tried
to claim up to $500 million despite complaints from the other attorneys
that he did little or no work.
The Democratic
primary is March 12. Sanchez and Morales along with Bill Lyon and
John WorldPeace are in the race.
The winner faces
Republican Gov. Rick Perry in the November general election. Perry
is unopposed in his party.
Supreme
Court denies stay for Tigua Indian casino
WASHINGTON(AP)—The
U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant a stay that would
have allowed the Tigua Indians to continue operating their Speaking
Rock Casino as they appeal lower court rulings that will require
it to close.
Without explanation,
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy handed down the refusal.
The Tiguas have
been fighting Texas Attorney General John Cornyn who filed a lawsuit
against the casino in 1999 claiming it violates state law. A federal
district court and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed
with the attorney general and the Tiguas are still appealing those
rulings.
The casino,
which pulls in about $60 million each year and is the main source
of income for a tribe that lived in poverty less than 10 years ago,
also employs about 800 people who aren’t tribal members.
The tribe had
argued that closing the casino before the appeals process is finished
would create economic hardship for the tribe and the local economy.
The appeals
court ruling that the casino is illegal has been sent to the federal
district court in El Paso where it must be processed before it becomes
official, which could take a few days.
MIT’s
graduate school applications up 10 percent
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.
(U-WIRE) — Applications for admission to Massachusetts Institute
of Technology’s graduate programs are up by more than 800,
or about 10 percent, this year, as many college graduates face a
crippled job market due to the weak economy.
According to
Associate Director of Admissions Elizabeth S. Johnson, 11,617 graduate
applications have been entered thus far into the MIT admissions
office database for matriculation in the 2002-03 school year. This
number does not include applicants to the Sloan School of Management
or master’s of science in engineering (MEng) applicants from
within MIT.
Last year the
admissions office recorded a total of 10,798 applications, excluding
applicants to the Sloan School and internal MEng applicants.
Departments
“may still be accepting qualified applicants,” Johnson
said, noting the numbers were not final. “We’re definitely
up, but we’ll be up even more when the dust settles.”
Many feel application
numbers are up this year for graduate programs mainly due to the
faltering economy.
“I think
[the high number of applications] is probably related to the economy
being down,” Johnson said.
Another possible
explanation for the increase in applicants this year may be it was
easier to turn in application materials. This was the first year
applicants were allowed to apply for most of MIT’s graduate
programs online.
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