Joe Rubio, Jr.

Infobox Officeholder


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honorific-prefix =
name = Jose Marcelino "Joe" Rubio, Jr.
honorific-suffix =
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order =
office = District Attorney of Webb and Zapata counties, Texas
term_start = January 1, 1989
term_end = December 31, 2008
predecessor = Julio A. Garcia, Sr.
successor = Isidro Reimundo "Chilo" Alaniz (unopposed Democratic nominee)
constituency = Laredo and Zapata, Texas
birth_date = birth date and age|1954|7|22|
birth_place = Laredo, Texas, U.S.
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = American
party = Democrat
spouse = Elizabeth Jones Rubio (born 1958)
relations =
children =
residence = Laredo, Texas
alma_mater = Law degree from University of Houston in Houston, Texas
occupation = Attorney
profession =
religion = Roman Catholic


website =
footnotes =

Jose Marcelino Rubio, Jr., known as Joe Rubio (born July 22, 1954), [ [https://www.txdirectory.com/online/person/?id=16329&office=16329 Joe Rubio, Jr. - Texas State Directory Online ] ] is the district attorney for Webb and Zapata counties in south Texas. Rubio is the longest serving DA for the 49th judicial district. Rubio became DA on January 1, 1989. He announced on August 30, 2007, that he would not seek a sixth four-year term in the March 4, 2008, Democratic primary so that he can instead resume his private law practice and spend more time with his family. [Julian Aguilar, "Rubio bows out", "Laredo Morning Times", August 31, 2007, p. 1, 12A]

Augmenting and Expanding the DA's Office

Rubio recognized the need for improving and augmenting services to victims of crime, thus creating the Hot Checks Unit, the Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit and the Domestic Violence Unit of the District Attorney's Office. The Hot Checks Unit was established in 1989 when Rubio recognized the negative impact bad checks had upon local business. “Hot checks impair our local economy when merchants must increase consumer costs in order to offset their losses.” Since it's establishment, the Hot Checks Unit has sought to obtain restitution for the victims of bad checks and to educate merchants to protect themselves against white collar crime. The Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit consists of a team of prosecutors and an investigator that specialize in highly sensitive cases involving the physical, sexual and emotional abuse of the most innocent and defenseless of victims. In 1997, the District Attorney established the 49th Judicial District's Domestic Violence Unit. Together, prosecutors, investigators and professional counselors have created a multi-county strategy to hold abusers accountable for their actions, and to offer victims the help they need.

ervice to the Community

On his office website, District Attorney Rubio explains the motto behind the mission of service to the community, "A healthy community depends upon the active involvement of all who live and work there. At the District Attorney’s office, we demonstrate our values and our commitment to public trust by volunteering for worthwhile causes and building relationships with members of the community." One such example is the Courtrooms to Classrooms program, which places prosecutors, investigators, and other personnel into local classrooms to teach young people how laws and crime have an effect on all members of our community. The program involves participation in school career days, debates and library fairs. It also provides law enforcement training for school resource officers, participation in Police Week at LCC and offers both an internship and shadowing program for persons seeking a career in law and law enforcement.

The Office of the District Attorney also actively participates in and sponsors various local organizations and events including the Domestic Violence Coalition, the Webb County Coalition, the Children’s Coalition, the Red Ribbon Campaign, Pink-to-Do Campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness, MADD, WBCA parade, GREAT Program (Gang Resistance Education & Training), Crime Stoppers, Special Student of the Month, the “Say No to Drugs” Campaign Guajolote Run, LIFE Downs and various trail rides throughout the year.

Through these efforts, the Office of District Attorney Joe Rubio demonstrates its commitment to making a difference in the communities of Webb and Zapata.

Commitment to Children

As DA, Rubio in 1995 created the Children's Coalition, which led to the establishment of a permanent Lamar Bruni Vergara Child Advocacy Center. Prior to that time, little was done in regard to child-abuse reports received by local law enforcement officials. According to Sylvia Bruni, a former Laredo Independent School District superintendent who heads the advocacy center, there had been no organized approach to investigating and prosecuting such cases.

Rubio explained the purpose of the center: "It reduces trauma to the child. . . . Instead of having the child bouncing between the police department and the hospital, they can go to one place" to receive counseling and be interviewed by police and prosecutors. Bruni said that Rubio "recognized the need and did something about it. A lot of us saw a problem but didn't act. Rubio did." [Jason Buch, "Rubio's great act recognized", "Laredo Morning Times", April 25, 2008, pp. 1, 17A]

Difficult Time for the DA office

Rubio said that his decision not to seek re-election is unrelated to a string of controversies during his tenure as DA which involved members of his family. In a federal sweep of the district attorney's office in 1997, five persons, including his father, Joe Rubio, Sr. (born 1927) [ [http://preview.ussearch.com/preview/newsearch;jsessionid=C455463983F3954230D94F2AA32B0F0C?searchFName=Jose&searchMName=M&searchLName=Rubio%2C+Jr.&searchCity=Laredo&searchState=TX&searchApproxAge=49&adID=10002101&searchtab=people&x=26&y=14 People Search & Background Check ] ] , were convicted on charges involving case fixing. [http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA110407.01B.LaredoReact.33ca336.html; http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&LastName=Rubio&Middle=m&FirstName=Jose&Race=W&Sex=M&Age=79&x=19&y=18] In May 2000, Rubio, Sr., was found guilty of conspiracy and extortion; three years later in March 2003, he was handed a four-year sentence in a federal prison hospital after his motion requesting home confinement was denied by U.S. District Judge George P. Kazen. Rubio, Sr., approached families of defendants in their homes and suggested bribes to get favorable action on their pertinent cases. Evidence did not show that Rubio, Jr., was aware of the solicitations, but Rubio, Sr., was in the DA's office on a nearly daily basis. Rubio, Sr., claimed that the cases were dismissed, not by his son, the DA, but by assistant DA Ramon Villafranca. [Ernesto Guevara, "Guerrilla Warfare", Scholarly Resources, Inc., 1997, pp. 85-86]

Equal Treatment Under the Law

Rubio, Jr., said at the time that his father's "health is in a fragile state; however, the order by the courts was well thought out and reflected that they, too, are concerned about his condition." He continued: "I recognize that the law must be applied to everyone, equally. If someone does something wrong, then they [sic] have to face the consequences, including members of my family." [Adriana Arce, "Rubio to serve time in prison", "Laredo Morning Times", March 13, 2003] Rubio, Sr., was released on November 24, 2006, after three and one-half years of confinement. Rubio's brother, Carlos Manuel Rubio (born 1959), was sentenced to thirty-two months in federal prison in 2000 after his conviction in a case-fixing violation that involved DA office employees. He was released on August 2, 2002. [ [http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&LastName=Rubio&Middle=m&FirstName=Carlos&Race=W&Sex=M&Age=48&x=13&y=13 Federal Bureau of Prisons ] ] The case also implicated an uncle of Rubio and a cousin. When asked why he chose not to run in 2008, Rubio noted that he easily survived the 2000 election despite the scandal and was unopposed in 2004. "Right now we're probably in the best political shape we've ever been. It's not because of not wanting to face another political battle. It's a financial decision," the DA explained. [Julian Aguilar, "Rubio bows out", "Laredo Morning Times", August 31, 2007, p. 1, 12A]

Rubio's background

Rubio graduated in 1973 from J. W. Nixon High School in Laredo and is a member of the honored "Nixon Legends", established in 1993. [ [http://www.laredosnews.com/archives/nov2002/local_03.htm :: LareDosnews.com :: - Local ] ] A Roman Catholic, he is a graduate of the University of Houston Law Center. After a failure of federal support over the costs involved, in 1998, Rubio announced that he would no longer prosecute federal drug cases within Webb and Zapata counties. [ [http://www.marijuananews.com/news.php3?sid=394 MarijuanaNews.Com, Freedom has nothing to fear from the truth ] ] Rubio originally became DA when he was nominated in the primary in 1988 to succeed distant relative, Julio A. Garcia, Sr. (born 1942), who declined to seek a third term. Rubio then defeated a rare challenge from an independent, Carlos Barrera, to secure the first of his five terms as DA. Barrera (born 1956), a former Webb County assistant DA under Garcia, thereafter relocated to Austin, where he opened a private law practice. On March 4, 2008, he was nominated in the Democratic primary in Travis County to fill a new judgeship, County Court-at-Law No. 8, which will oversee criminal misdemeanor cases. Barrera is unopposed in the November 4 general election. [Julian Aguilar, "Laredoan new judge", "Laredo Morning Times", March 8, 2008, p. 3A] Two of Rubio's prosecutors, Oscar Hale, Jr. and Joe Lopez, Jr., became district judges. Another high-level DA employee, Ricardo "Rick" Flores, was elected sheriff in 2004, after having been dismissed from the DA's office from his position as counselor and criminal investigator in the Domestic Violence Unit. Flores is a candidate for renomination in the April 8 Texas Democratic runoff primary. [http://www.laredosnews.com/archives/march2004/oped.htm; http://rickflores2008.com/vitae.html] Prior to his DA service, Rubio served briefly on the Laredo Independent School Board in Laredo.

Rubio the Democrat

Rubio announced too that after leaving office he will remain active in the Democratic Party. A former Webb County Democratic chair, he was the most visible county supporter of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson's unsuccessful bid for the party's 2008 presidential nomination. Rubio said that Richardson is "sensitive and knowledgeable about our [Hispanic] culture. . . . We believe in him and think that he can do a good job." [Julian Aguilar, "Wall ineffective, Richardson says", "Laredo Morning Times", November 2, 2007, pp. 1, 12A]

Rubio is a maternal cousin of State Representative Richard Raymond, another Laredo Democrat.

Triple-ax murder case of 1991

Rubio's activities regarding a triple-axe murder case early in 1991 have continued to be questioned though the matter did not affect his reelection prospects. James D. "Jim" Smiley (1958-1991), a Missouri native, Laredo businessman, and a Baptist deacon, Ruben Martinez, then twenty-one, and Daniel Duenez Capetillo, then fourteen, were murdered in Smiley's home by two teenagers wielding an axe. The killers were Miguel Angel Martinez, then seventeen, and Miguel Venegas, then sixteen. Martinez was given the death penalty and for a time was the youngest person on Texas death row. His punishment was commuted to life imprisonment. Venegas was imprisoned but not tried as an adult. [ [http://www.sonic.net/~msnyder/angels/Stories93.htm Stories93 ] ] The axe and knives used in the crime were provided to the killers by Milo Flores, a son of then State District Judge Manuel R. "Meme" Flores. Milo Flores was also the alleged getaway driver. Rubio was accused of having failed to procure an indictment against Milo Flores because of the political connection between the DA and the judge When then Laredo City Councilman Alfonso "Poncho" Casso sought to bring federal obstruction of justice charges against Rubio in the matter, the DA had Casso jailed on a technical violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act. Casso ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 1998 and thereafter left Laredo, with no formal charges brought against him. Meanwhile, Lisa Zintsmaster, the former wife of a Laredo attorney, testified under oath that an illegal meeting was held between Rubio and Judge Flores after the triple-ax murders to shield Milo Flores from prosecution. [Ernesto Guevara, "Guerrilla Warfare", Scholarly Resources, Inc., 1997, pp. 84-85] Flores survived the scrutiny over his son until 2006, when he was unseated in the Democratic primary by attorney Joe Lopez, Jr.

ucceeding Rubio

Three of the four Democrats who sought to succeed Rubio have ties to the DA's office. Fausto Sosa (born 1960) and Rolando "Rolie" Garza (born 1957) are former first assistant district attorneys. The two were eliminated the March 4 primary. Sosa started working as an assistant DA under Rudio's predecessor, Julio Garcia. Isidro Reimundo "Chilo" Alaniz (born 1968), who easily led in the primary with 49 percent of the vote and was the choice of Rubio as his successor, formerly headed the DA child-abuse unit. Maria Elena Morales (born 1952), Alaniz's opponent in the April 8 runoff election, criticized Rubio's administration of the office. Morales, who drew 21 percent in the primary, had indicated in a candidate forum held at Laredo Community College that she would not permit assistant DA's to maintain a private law practice. If elected, Morales said that she would halt her private law practice for full-time service as district attorney. [Jason Buch, "DA candidates open debate on merits of office", "Laredo Morning Times", December 5, 2007, p. 5A] Voters handily nominated Alaniz in the runoff -- he won all fifty-nine precincts -- and barring the entry of a late-filing write-in candidate he will become district attorney in January 2009, for no Republican sought the position in heavily Democratic Webb County.

References