Report clears Airport Board members

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HARLINGEN, Nov 02, 2009 (Valley Morning Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- LMSAF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- A report from a special prosecutor on allegations against two Harlingen Airport Board members clears them of accusations of accepting gifts or bribes.

The accusations, lodged by Sun Valley Dusting Co. owner Pat Kornegay against Airport Board Chairman Ricardo Ledesma and board member Jim Solis, stem from a dispute over proposals by Kornegay to open an aviation services company at Valley International Airport.

The two board members were accused by Kornegay of ethics violations, violations of Federal Aviation Administration regulations and state laws after they voted against Kornegay's initial proposal.

In the report signed by Special Prosecutor Thomas Sullivan, a Brownsville lawyer, and Harlingen police Detective W. Stan Duncan, accusations lodged by Kornegay against Ledesma and Solis were found to be invalid.

"This investigation concludes there is no credible evidence to assert Mr. Solis violated his ethical obligations. Actually, the contrary appears to be true," the report states. "All credible evidence points to the exoneration of Mr. Solis."

The report also states, "This investigation concludes there is no credible evidence to assert Mr. Ledesma acted in violation of the City of Harlingen's Code of Ethics. Prosecution is not warranted."

The city ethics ordinance calls for the city attorney to investigate ethics complaints. However, former city attorney Brendan Hall chose to appoint Sullivan as special prosecutor to handle the investigation.

After Hall resigned, the report was turned over to Interim City Attorney Richard Bilbie, who released a copy to the Valley Morning Star.

Ledesma, a local businessman, was accused by Kornegay, owner of Sun Valley Aviation -- Sun Valley Dusting Co. of San Benito -- of offering to approve a proposal for Sun Valley to build a hangar and offices for an aircraft services business at the airport in exchange for Kornegay dropping his ethics complaint.

Solis, an attorney and former state representative, was accused of accepting a free plane ride to Laredo on May 15, 2008, from Gulf Aviation owner David Garza (not the same David Garza who is an airport board member).

Solis told the Valley Morning Star the flight was a demonstration flight similar to a test drive provided by a car dealer to a potential customer.

An Austin law firm he is associated with, Rosenthal & Watson, arranged the trip, Solis said.

Attorney Marc Rosenthal was considering purchasing the airplane, a Cessna 421, and hired pilot Ludovic Prevost to fly it to Laredo, Solis said.

The Sullivan report states:

"Mr. (Gulf Aviation owner David) Garza describes Mr. Rosenthal's interest in a larger plane and Mr. Garza's offer of the Cessna 421.

"Mr. Garza offered the Cessna 421 as a possible purchase and further offered a demonstration flight. Mr. Garza acknowledges that Gulf Aviation Inc. does not have the necessary FAA '135' certification for an air taxi service."

His only role was to travel to Laredo to provide legal services as part of his work with the Austin firm, Solis said. He gave the pilot money provided by Rosenthal for his services, Solis said.

"I think the (Sullivan) report speaks for itself," Solis said.

Kornegay declined to comment on his opinion of Sullivan's conclusions about Solis' and Ledesma's actions.

In Sullivan's report, Kornegay's affidavit is quoted:

"I consider Mr. Rick Ledesma's offer to do something for me that would facilitate my lease with the airport, in his authority as Airport Board chairman, conditioned on my withdrawing my grievance against him and Mr. Solis, a clear solicitation of a bribe by a public official and a crime under the State of Texas' Penal Code Section 36.02."

Ledesma said last week that he and Solis had voted against Kornegay's first proposal to open an aircraft services business at Valley International Airport only because it involved the airport going into debt for $1.5 million in certificates of obligation

to build the hangar and offices for Kornegay's company.

"Southwest (Airlines) had had its first loss in 17 years," Ledesma said. "DHL (air freight service) was leaving (Valley International). It didn't make sense for me to have the airport borrow $1.5 million at that point."

He and Solis never objected to Sun Valley's second proposal to lease land from the airport so Kornegay and his backers could build facilities for their new business at Valley International, Ledesma said.

Aviation Director Michael Browning said last week that the current Sun Valley proposal is now being actively considered.

Even though Sun Valley would finance construction of its hangars and offices, the airport would apply for an FAA grant of $1.5 million to pave aircraft parking space and auto parking space for Sun Valley, Browning said. The airport will have to pay $400,000 of the cost as a "local match" to the FAA grant, he said.

Kornegay's accusation that the airport board should not have leased Gulf Aviation the north portion of the existing fixed base operator facilities without advertising it for proposals from any interested company ignores the fact that Gulf had been leasing both existing FBO facilities since the 1980s, Ledesma said.

Airport officials checked with the FAA and learned it was not a requirement to advertise for proposals to renew the existing lease, Ledesma said.

"The airport board has a very strong ethical culture," Ledesma said. "They (FAA) said you do not have to go out for proposals (to renew a lease).

"We've had some wild allegations at the airport before, but this takes the cake," Ledesma said of Kornegay's accusations.

Eddie Medrano, Kornegay's attorney and a former Harlingen city commissioner, said he does not agree with Sullivan's conclusions, but there is nothing more he can do.

"I don't really understand it," he said of the report. "The statements are not supported by the facts stated in the affidavits (of all witnesses interviewed by Sullivan and the police detective.)"

Sullivan's report was dated Aug. 25, but despite being Kornegay's attorney, he was not able to obtain a copy of the report until one was furnished last week by the Valley Morning Star, Medrano said.

The Star obtained the report from the city attorney's office by filing a Texas Public Information Act request.

Medrano said he does not dispute Solis' claim that he was just a passenger on the airplane flown to Laredo or that the flight was a demonstration involved with a possible sale, rather than a gift to Solis as a member of the airport board.

But he said he had not heard that explanation until he read the report.

"I have to take him at his word," he said of Solis' statements.

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