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BajaNews
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Ex-Tijuana mayor cleared of weapons charges, held in woman’s murder
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1008704--ex-tijuan...
By E. Eduardo Castillo & Elliot Spagat
TIJUANA, MEXICO—A federal judge dismissed weapons charges against a flamboyant gambling magnate-turned-politician on Tuesday, dealing a stinging
setback to President Felipe Calderon’s battle against organized crime and fuelling claims that a pre-dawn military raid on the former mayor’s compound
was an attempt to damage his party ahead of Mexico’s presidential elections.
But Jorge Hank Rhon did not go free as he left the federal prison. He is being held for investigation of ordering the 2009 murder of Tijuana woman,
the Baja California state prosecutor said in a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
State officials immediately took the 55-year-old gambling magnate into custody earlier in the day.
State Attorney General Rommel Moreno said the assassin has testified that he killed 24-year-old Angelica Munoz in her apartment in August 2009 under
orders from Hank Rhon.
The judge has until early Thursday to approve the detention order to hold him 40 days without charges while prosecutors complete the investigation,
Attorney General spokesman Marco Vinicio Blanco said.
Dismissal of the federal charges followed 10 days of increasing questions about the arrest. Hank Rhon’s lawyers said raid was illegal because soldiers
didn’t have a search warrant. Supporters demonstrated in the streets for his freedom. Catholic bishops joined calls for his speedy release.
“If they were going to make a political strike on this scale, why didn’t they do it right?” said Jose Antonio Crespo, a political analyst at Mexico
City’s Center for Investigation and Economic Research. “They didn’t lack evidence; they just needed to follow procedures and do things right.”
Judge Blanca Evelia Parra Meza ruled there wasn’t enough evidence to order Hank Rhon and eight others to stand trial on charges of possessing weapons
restricted to military use, according to a statement from the court office. It did not elaborate on the reasons. The federal attorney general’s
office, which has insisted soldiers didn’t need a search warrant, promised to appeal.
Hank Rhon was Tijuana’s mayor from 2004 to 2007, when he staged a failed run for governor. He has long figured large on the national political scene,
and not only because of the wealth amassed from his Caliente gambling empire.
His father was one of Mexico’s best-known politicians, leader of faction in the Institutional Revolutionary Party that ruled Mexico from 1929 until
2000. National polls indicate that the man with the best chance to oust Calderon’s National Action Party and recover the presidency in 2012 is Enrique
Pena Nieto, who hails from that faction and has political ties to Hank Rhon.
The seeming collapse of the case echoed a 2009 strike against mayors from Calderon’s home state of Michoacan, most of them from opposition parties,
who were accused of protecting drug traffickers and were eventually released for lack of evidence.
David Shirk, director of the University of San Diego Trans-Border Institute, said it would be a “huge embarrassment” if Hank Rhon is cleared.
“It’s not so much that they made a mistake. It’s that they have not been able to convict a noticeable number of organized crime suspects,” he said.
Plans for a celebration at Hank’s Rhon’s sprawling compound — which includes a casino, racetrack and private zoo — were put on hold after he was
shuttled from prison in the border city of Tecate to a Tijuana office of the state attorney general.
Mexican law allows suspects to be held for up to 40 days without charges.
Garcia, the human rights ombudsman, said he didn’t have details about the case that led state authorities to detain Hank Rhon, but the state
prosecutor has said two guns seized in the June 4 raid were linked to the Tijuana killings of a security guard in December 2009 and an alleged car
thief in June 2010.
U.S. authorities have long suspected Hank Rhon of links to money laundering, but no accusations have been substantiated and he has strenuously denied
ties to drug cartels. Two of his bodyguards were convicted of killing investigative journalist Hector Felix Miranda in 1988, but they denied the
attack was linked to their boss, and no charges were filed against him.
Many Mexicans suspected that the army raid was partly motivated by politics.
Political commentator Salvador Garcia Soto wrote in Mexico City’s El Universal newspaper Tuesday that the arrest fits into Calderon’s desire to
portray Pena Nieto’s party as part of Mexico’s dirty past of one-party rule.
“They showed that they will use all the legal, judicial tools at their disposal,” he wrote.
Institutional Revolutionary Party spokesman David Penchyna, a congressman, said his party was closely watching the case and “it would be very bad for
the democratic system if the judicial system were used for electoral purposes.”
Meanwhile, on the other end of the country, a judge ordered former Chiapas Gov. Pablo Salazar Mendiguchia to stand trial on charges of embezzlement,
abuse of authority and criminal association. State prosecutors say he misappropriated funds for hurricane victims. He denies guilt and his backers
argue he is the victim of a political vendetta by the current governor there.
In Tijuana, support poured in for Hank Rhon from across the social spectrum.
Tijuana Archbishop Rafael Romo sent Hank Rhon a letter published Monday in Mexican newspapers, saying “I have confidence in God that everything will
be conducted in accordance with the law and you will soon be back with your family and us again.”
Bishop Oneisimo Cepeda in Hank Rhon’s home State of Mexico said the former mayor’s troubles have only reinforced their friendship also praised him for
his charity.
Virginia Mora, 66, offered an example. She met Hank Rhon in her hardscrabble neighbourhood when he campaigned for mayor and stopped by for two
servings of homemade soup. He paid her with a huge delivery of cement and other building materials.
“He likes to help people out, give gifts,” said Mora, 66.
Bertha Guadalupe Diaz, a 66-year-old street vendor who regularly attends Hank’s massive, free parties on Mother’s Day and other holidays, recalled
being summoned to City Hall when Hank Rhon learned she couldn’t afford a hearing aid. He offered to pay the bill.
“Thanks to him, I hear,” she said.
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BajaNews
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http://www.azfamily.com/news/world/123806074.html
TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — The Baja California state prosecutor says the former mayor of Tijuana is being held for investigation of ordering the 2009
murder of Tijuana woman.
State Attorney General Rommel Moreno says the assassin has testified that he killed 24-year-old Angelica Munoz in her apartment in August 2009 under
orders from Jorge Hank Rhon.
Attorney General spokesman Marco Vinicio Blanco said Tuesday that Hank Rhon, 55, who ran Tijuana from 2004 to 2007, is in custody in Tijuana hotel.
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JESSE
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Hank has just been released, AGAIN!!!
What a circus.
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by JESSE
Hank has just been released, AGAIN!!!
What a circus. |
You can't be surprised. Oligarchs lead the three-ring circus that is Mexico.
Don Porfirio lives.
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jenny.navarrette
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TJ, a Chinese fire drill. With apologies to the Chinese.
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Bajahowodd
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Which Country Are You Referring Too?
| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by JoeJustJoe
If these organized crime charges stick. It could be must worst for Rhon, because he'll have less constitutional rights.
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Meaningless. One doesn't need rights when they have money and power, especially as deeply entrenched as his power is. |
The US can't throw stones this time, because money talks and power walks!
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BajaNews
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Former TJ mayor released after homicide allegations
| Quote: | Originally posted by JESSE
Hank has just been released, AGAIN!!!
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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/jun/14/mexican-judge...
By Sandra Dibble
June 14, 2011
TIJUANA — Former Tijuana mayor and gambling magnate Jorge Hank Rhon was released Tuesday afternoon after a day of legal twists and turns, including a
new accusation that he masterminded the homicide of a woman in 2009.
In the early morning, a federal judge ordered an end to Hank’s detention at a prison in Tecate, Mexico, after ruling there wasn’t enough evidence to
justify federal charges of illegal weapons possession — the reason Hank was arrested on June 4. Federal prosecutors said they plan to appeal that
ruling.
Hank, 55, has maintained his innocence against charges that he illegally kept 88 firearms, more than 9,000 rounds of ammunition and other weapons on
his Tijuana estate behind the Agua Caliente racetrack. His supporters have labeled the arrest as a political ploy against Hank, who is connected to
the upper echelons of Mexico’s once-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party. The detention came as that party’s candidate is ahead in polls for next
year's presidential election.
After the federal judge’s decision, Baja California authorities detained Hank and held him at a Tijuana hotel while they sought judicial permission to
keep him in custody as they investigated an accusation that he ordered the 2009 killing of a 24-year-old woman.
Attorney General Rommel Moreno Manjarrez said a witness to the Aug. 13, 2009, slaying of Angelica Maria Muñoz Cervantes has stated that he received “a
direct order from Jorge Hank Rohn to assassinate” the woman. Moreno described the victim as having had a relationship with one of Hank’s sons, but did
not elaborate.
Hank has not been charged in the crime, but state authorities asked a state judge to keep Hank in detention while they investigate the killing. The
judge denied that request late Tuesday afternoon, and Hank left the hotel without commenting.
Though dogged for years by accusations of illicit activities, Hank had never been charged with a serious crime until this month. One of Mexico’s
wealthiest citizens, Hank oversees Grupo Caliente, whose holdings include a string of off-track betting businesses throughout Mexico, Latin America
and Europe. He is also owner of the Xoloitzcuintles soccer team.
His father, Carlos Hank Gonzalez, was a powerful PRI politician from the state of Mexico, and Hank has stated his intention of running for governor of
Baja California in 2013.
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Woooosh
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The only sure loser in this whole fiasco is any hope the Mexican people had that the legal and justice systems were improving under the reforms.
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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JoeJustJoe
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I was very hopeful that Hank Rhon was going to be released from jail, although it was looking bad for awhile.
This whole fiasco of the Rhon arrest looked bad from the get go. You had anonymous tipsters. You had supposedly Rhon's employees carrying weapons that
also supposedly lead them to bust in Rhon's residence by the Mexican equivalent to a super SWAT team that just happened to be nearby. ( I wonder how
many weeks of planning went into the bust?)
You had the arrested employees say they didn't even work for Rhon, or Rhon said they worked for a security agency he hired. You had conflicting
statements from both sides, and you had different agencies trying to do different things.
This whole case against Rhon stinks, especially given the short history of human right abuse by the Mexican Military who can't even point to any
success, because drugs continue to flow and the violence in the streets gets worst wherever they go.
The winners here are the Mexican Constitution, and the people in Baja California. Because if the military could bust in Rhon's home in the middle of
the night over some anonymous tip, and then arrest him and throw the whole kitchen sink at him with charge after charge of murder. Then what's to stop
the Mexican military from doing the same to the average Joe or Jose in Baja?
If they want to arrest Hank Rhon they need to do it right, and get that search warrant from a judge. This case reminds me of the IRS charges against
Al Capone, except they didn't work here, but I'm also sure that could change very soon. C'mon going after Rhon for having weapons in his house? What a
surprise.
Woooosh makes it sound like everybody in Baja is disappointed the crime charges didn't stick. From what I understand there was a party atmosphere when
Rhon was released, and looking at the comments from the Mexican papers the feelings are mixed.
Money helped here too, and Rhon was able to get the best legal representation money could buy. But isn't it that way in the USA too. If you have money
lots of money. You usually will walk, and rarely if ever do any real jail time?
[Edited on 6-15-2011 by JoeJustJoe]
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Woooosh
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| Quote: | Originally posted by JoeJustJoe
Woooosh makes it sound like everybody in Baja is disappointed the crime charges didn't stick. From what I understand there was a party atmosphere when
Rhon was released, and looking at the comments from the Mexican papers the feelings are mixed.
Money helped here too, and Rhon was able to get the best legal representation money could buy. But isn't it that way in the USA too. If you have money
lots of money. You usually will walk, and rarely if ever do any real jail time?
[Edited on 6-15-2011 by JoeJustJoe] |
Not everyone is disappointed, only the people Hank rents or owns. So what if he had the mother of his gay son's child killed? That whole event was a
mess on Hanks end too- with clothes and cars being washed before the crime was reported.
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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BajaNews
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Tijuana ex-mayor speaks out after detention
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/jun/20/former-tijuan...
By Sandra Dibble
June 20, 2011
TIJUANA — Jorge Hank Rhon, the gambling magnate and former mayor of Tijuana, was back in the public eye Monday, shrugging off his 10 days in detention
this month on charges of illegal arms possession and an allegation that he masterminded the slaying of his son’s girlfriend.
“Since I was young, they showed me that whoever gets angry loses, and I don’t like to lose,” said the 55-year-old head of Grupo Caliente. “These are
things that happen. It doesn’t matter, it’s over.”
At a news conference in the lobby of the Caliente racetrack, Hank was playful, circumspect, and never at a loss for words as he made his first public
statements since his release last Tuesday.
His wife, María Elvia Amaya, listened in the front row, along with supporters from Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party, the PRI. A mascot from
his Xoloitzcuintles soccer team stood behind him.
The story of Hank’s detention and release has commanded national attention in Mexico. He is a member of a powerful PRI family and one of his country’s
wealthiest men. For years, Hank has been accused of criminal ties on both sides of the border but until this month never charged with a serious crime.
Hank’s defenders have dismissed this month’s accusations clumsy maneuvers by President Felipe Calderón, a member of Mexico’s National Action Party, or
PAN, to discredit the PRI in anticipation of a key gubernatorial election in the state of Mexico and presidential elections next year.
Supporters of Hank’s detention say it showed that no one is above the law, but even some of them criticized the way the case was handled.
“Hank represents everything that the PRI should throw in the trash bin of history,” wrote Denise Dresser, a political analyst and columnist for
Vanguardia. His arrest, “is a deserved blow, but one that was poorly delivered.”
Federal prosecutors had accused Hank of illegally stockpiling weapons, but a federal judge ruled that the prosecutors did not present sufficient
evidence to warrant Hank’s continued detention.
Following Hank’s release from federal custody, state agents arrested Hank and held him for several hours for questioning in connection with the August
2009 murder of Angelica María Muñoz Cervantes. They were forced to release him after state judge ruled that he could not be held without charges.
The cases are not over: Federal prosecutors said they are appealing the ruling, and state prosecutors said they are continuing to investigate Hank’s
connection to the homicide.
Hank served as Tijuana mayor from 2004 until 2007, resigning before the end of his term to make an unsuccessful run for governor.
“I am at the orders of my party,” he answered when asked whether he might again run for governor of Baja California in 2013. “I don’t know a single
politician who would not like to govern his state.”
Hank said none of the 88 firearms seized at his estate by the military on June 4 were his. Federal authorities alleged only 10 were licensed. On
Monday, Hank said that his security staffers have permits for whatever weapons they carry.
Asked about the allegations concerning the August 2009 slaying of his son’s girlfriend, he referred questions to his attorneys. He said he would
cooperate in the investigations “whenever they would like, in order to clear things up.”
Hank for the first time publicly acknowledged that U.S. authorities took away his visa, confirming reports since 2009 that he can no longer cross to
the United States. U.S. authorities have not confirmed the action, citing the Privacy Act.
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JESSE
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I think Hanks political aspirations are finished. At first it seemed he would come out strong from this fiasco, but now it is clear his bad deeds have
been exposed nationally for everyone to see. The details of the murder allegation involving his sons ex girlfriend seem pretty solid to me, even if
they can't prove them in court. Details of the crime came out in ZETA newspaper and the witness is actually in US custody, so the US provided the
intel for the girls murder.
Plus, i think he has become a liability for the PRI, who in private most members wish this guy would go away, because he is an embarrasment.
[Edited on 6-21-2011 by JESSE]
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Woooosh
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| Quote: | Originally posted by JESSE
I think Hanks political aspirations are finished. At first it seemed he would come out strong from this fiasco, but now it is clear his bad deeds have
been exposed nationally for everyone to see. The details of the murder allegation involving his sons ex girlfriend seem pretty solid to me, even if
they can't prove them in court. Details of the crime came out in ZETA newspaper and the witness is actually in US custody, so the US provided the
intel for the girls murder.
Plus, i think he has become a liability for the PRI, who in private most members wish this guy would go away, because he is an embarrasment.
[Edited on 6-21-2011 by JESSE] |
Really? I think it was an absolute home run for Hank. He played the victim perfectly.
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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JESSE
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Woooosh
| Quote: | Originally posted by JESSE
I think Hanks political aspirations are finished. At first it seemed he would come out strong from this fiasco, but now it is clear his bad deeds have
been exposed nationally for everyone to see. The details of the murder allegation involving his sons ex girlfriend seem pretty solid to me, even if
they can't prove them in court. Details of the crime came out in ZETA newspaper and the witness is actually in US custody, so the US provided the
intel for the girls murder.
Plus, i think he has become a liability for the PRI, who in private most members wish this guy would go away, because he is an embarrasment.
[Edited on 6-21-2011 by JESSE] |
Really? I think it was an absolute home run for Hank. He played the victim perfectly. |
At first thats what i tought. But too many things where exposed about his life. Everybody knew about Gato Felix, but now the guns, then the murdered
girl, its just too many things that make it very clear the man is poison. Before it was rumors, now its pretty clear we are dealing with a James Bond
type of villain. I think people are turned off by now knowing the rumors are true.
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Dave
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That's true...
| Quote: | Originally posted by BajaNews
“I am at the orders of my party,” he answered when asked whether he might again run for governor of Baja California in 2013. |
Isn't it?
Don't the political parties decide who to put up for election? If Hank wanted to run wouldn't he need his party's blessing?
[Edited on 6-21-2011 by Dave]
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Dave
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One would think that losing his U.S. visa would be an embarrassment but given Hank's core supporters it's probably a plus. 
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by JESSE
I think people are turned off by now knowing the rumors are true. |
Slow to learn...arn't they.
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Woooosh
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by JESSE
I think people are turned off by now knowing the rumors are true. |
Slow to learn...arn't they. |
I know this is overgeneralizing... but I think it's a lot like the politics of New Orleans. The people there openly elect crooks year after year- so
long as they as "good crooks" (meaning they are corrupt and take bribes but don't get caught red-handed). Stupid crooks (those who do corruption badly
and get caught) aren't elected twice. "Everyone like's a good crook" they say down there. They don't come out and say that in Mexico, but it sure
looks like that's the dynamic here too.
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Woooosh
"Everyone like's a good crook" they say down there. They don't come out and say that in Mexico, but it sure looks like that's the dynamic here too.
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Jorge's ultra-corrupt daddy would say to the world, "A politician who is poor is a poor politician."
Them's was the days. 
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Dave
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Woooosh
I know this is overgeneralizing... but I think it's a lot like the politics of New Orleans. The people there openly elect crooks year after year- so
long as they as "good crooks" (meaning they are corrupt and take bribes but don't get caught red-handed). Stupid crooks (those who do corruption badly
and get caught) aren't elected twice. "Everyone like's a good crook" they say down there. They don't come out and say that in Mexico, but it sure
looks like that's the dynamic here too. |
Here are some interesting revelations from a former Mexican foreign minister:
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/19/entertainment/la-ca-...
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