Man accused of posing as officer, lawyer

Saturday, November 17, 2007

CORPUS CHRISTI � A major contributor to Democratic causes and political races was indicted Friday on charges of falsely holding himself out as a lawyer and impersonating a public servant.

Mauricio Celis, a Corpus Christi businessman, has a controlling interest in the CGT Law Group even though he is not an attorney.

He has been accused of practicing law without a license. Texas law prohibits anyone from owning a controlling interest in a law firm unless he is a licensed lawyer.

A Nueces County grand jury indicted Celis on seven counts of falsely holding himself out as a lawyer, a third-degree felony. Each count stems from separate incidents in which Celis was listed as an attorney, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times reported in its online edition.

Celis' business cards and letterhead, as well as his firm's Web site, identified him as an attorney licensed in Mexico. One business fax sheet said he was licensed in Washington, D.C., and California. Celis also signed a settlement document as an attorney, according to the indictment.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott also has sued Celis, accusing him of practicing law without a license.

Celis' attorney, Tony Canales, did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Celis also was charged with impersonating a public servant, a third-degree felony, for flashing a Duval County sheriff's badge in an incident near his Corpus Christi home.

In that case, police reported that a naked woman ran from Celis' home to a convenience store, claiming she had been in a hot tub and groped against her will. Celis followed her into the store, wearing a bathrobe.

He displayed a sheriff's deputy badge from the nearby county and told police at the store that he would take custody of the woman, police said.

The Nueces County sheriff's department said an arrest warrant is expected to be issued for Celis next week.

Celis has contributed thousands of dollars to state and federal candidates, including the presidential campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton. Several candidates for state office who accepted campaign cash from Celis have since donated it to charity.

quote:

---

In that case, police reported that a naked woman ran from Celis' home to a convenience store, claiming she had been in a hot tub and groped against her will. Celis followed her into the store, wearing a bathrobe.

He displayed a sheriff's deputy badge from the nearby county and told police at the store that he would take custody of the woman, police said.

---

Okay. I'm at a loss. Which paragraph is most ridiculous. The naked lady who was groped against her will in a hot tub? (Presumably she was in the hot tub naked (or is that nekkid?) when it occurred.)

Or

The guy in a bathrobe, flashing. . . . a badge claiming to be a sheriff's deputy from another county.

That's why we have this thread -- to answer such troubling questions.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Gordon LeMaire:
Okay. I'm at a loss. Which paragraph is most ridiculous. The naked lady who was groped against her will in a hot tub? (Presumably she was in the hot tub naked (or is that nekkid?) when it occurred.)

Or

The guy in a bathrobe, flashing. . . . a badge claiming to be a sheriff's deputy from another county.

---

Neither of those paragraphs really matter, Gordon. The one that matters is the one that says it was in Corpus, and not in WILCO.

Topless swimmers make waves in Sweden

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- A group of Swedish women is making waves by taking their tops off at public swimming pools in a protest against what they call gender-biased rules on swim wear.

About 40 women have joined the network and staged topless protests in at least three cities, said Sanna Ferm, 22, one of the founders of the group called Bara Brost, or Bare Breasts.

"The purpose of the campaign is to start a debate about why women's bodies are sexualized," Ferm said Wednesday.

She said the fact that men can be bare-chested in public swimming pools but not women is "a concrete example of how women have fewer rights than men."

Reactions from other swimmers have ranged from support and encouragement to anger and even indifference, she said.

The network was formed after two women who were swimming topless in a public swimming pool in Uppsala, north of Stockholm, were asked to cover up or leave.

Women can sunbathe topless in the summertime at beaches around Sweden, which is known for its relaxed attitude toward nudity, but they are required to wear tops at public swimming pools.

Inger Groteblad, a manager at the swimming facility in Uppsala, said it was a matter of security.

"We want to make sure that girls don't get subjected to sexual harassment," she was quoted as saying by tabloid Aftonbladet.

The women have filed a complaint against the facility to Sweden's Equal Opportunities Ombudsman.

This is just the kind of oppression that Americans need to speak out against. Not just at Mardi Gras, or a Jets game, or when hanging out with Britney Spears, but anywhere there is injustice. With great power, comes great responsibility.

[This message was edited by David Newell on 11-22-07 at .]

quote:

---

Originally posted by David Newell:
This is just the kind of oppression that Americans need to speak out against. Not just at Mardi Gras, or a Jets game, or when hanging out with Britney Spears, but anywhere there is injustice. With great power, comes great responsibility.

---

Where can I sign that petition?

Over 300 attorneys have already signed it. Oh, wait. That's a different petition. Never mind.

quote:

---

or when hanging out with Britney Spears

---

Priceless!

Court to Scrutinize Defendants' Genitals

Court To Scrutinize Defendants' Genitals

POSTED: 8:35 am CST December 5, 2007
UPDATED: 9:24 am CST December 5, 2007


NEW ORLEANS -- Graphic photographs of two defendants will be allowed as evidence in a rape trial Wednesday.

Click Here: Watch The Story

The defense team argued to prevent evidence that includes photographs of their clients� anatomies out of the courtroom.

Defense attorney Robert Jenkins said his client and another man might have to expose themselves during trial.

�They say it helps the case because, allegedly, one perp is circumcised and one not circumcised,� Jenkins said.

New Orleans police arrested Tyrone Wilson and Hampton Franklin in June, 2005. They�re accused of raping a Tulane employee in a campus office in the middle of the day.

Investigators said two men approached the 49-year-old victim and asked for directions.

Detectives said she gave the two men what they wanted, but they returned to her building near Plum Street and, according to police, the suspects sexually assaulted and pistol-whipped her after demanding money.

Now, the prosecution plans to have a doctor photograph the defendants� penises and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has nodded its assent. Judge Author Hunter calls the evidence relevant, though Jenkins calls it bizarre.

�If it is or isn�t doesn�t mean they committed the crime,� Jenkins said. �I�ve never seen it before. Even in fiction, you don�t see this kind of stuff.�

Jury selection for the case wrapped up Tuesday. The trial starts Wednesday at 11 a.m.

I guess that is the rare case where the defendant would not want to hear his attorney object to the admission of photos of the private areas as "factually insufficient evidence".

Had this come up in Dallas once. Victim testified that defendant's . . . uh parts . . . resembled one of those little yellow pencils like you use to fill out your golf card. I forget what exactly was done to present the . . . evidence . . . to the jury.

He was convicted.

Supposedly a defendant in a Tarrant County sex case over a decade ago had to display his tattooed organ. The tattoo? A turtle!

JAS

Posh Spice sleeps in the buff with Becks
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK -- Victoria Beckham goes to bed naked. And she's got a very good reason - her husband. "You don't sleep with David Beckham," the 33-year-old Posh Spice tells Elle magazine in its January issue, on newsstands Tuesday. "I'm going to be naked if I'm getting in bed with him every night!"

The Beckhams and their three young sons moved to Los Angeles this summer when her soccer-superstar husband signed to play with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

"I'm very proud to be British, but here it's a lot more relaxed," she says. "It's the happiest as a family that we've ever been. I just love America."

She is now on tour with the newly reunited Spice Girls.

"I wanted my children to see that Mummy was a pop star," she says. "It was the last opportunity for them to stand in a crowd full of people screaming for the Spice Girls."

Beckham says she was never a "natural."

"It became very obvious from the start that I was never going to be the best singer or the best dancer or the best actress," she says. "You know, I've never been that good at anything, to be completely honest."

Still, she's a natural when it comes to keeping herself in the media spotlight, from her cutting-edge haircut to her high-profile marriage.

"I'm so camp! I'm such a gay man trying to get out," she says. "I don't give a (bleep) what anybody thinks."

quote:

---

Victoria Beckham goes to bed naked

---

Uh

I think you meant, "Duh."

Actually, I think it was more like. "Heh, heh, heh, heh, she sleeps nekkid."

I was struck by how utterly sad Posh's existence must be that she must announce her sleeping habits to make news. She at least honestly acknowledges that her skills as an entertainer would not otherwise keep her in the news. I know that others who post will disagree with her assessment of her skills as a singer and dancer. Perhaps they would like to speak up and defend her.

'Naked Twister' nights inspire suburb's sex club ban

DUNCANVILLE, Texas (AP) -- The most popular address on Cedar Ridge Drive is Jim Trulock's split-level home, which has a group sex room and attracts as many as 100 people to swinger parties featuring "Naked Twister" nights.

But the festivities could soon be over. In response to neighbors' complaints, the city has outlawed sex clubs in residential areas. Citations have been issued, and search warrants may be next.

"It's crazy that they want to force their morality down our throats," said Dawn Burton, 45, a regular guest at the parties. "We're all frustrated."

So are those who complain of the noise, traffic and parking problems that occur in their otherwise quiet, upscale neighborhood every Friday and Saturday, when Trulock's home is transformed into "The Cherry Pit."

For the rest of the story, see here.

Oh, where to begin? I think my favorite quote is:

quote:

---

"It's crazy that they want to force their morality down our throats," said Dawn Burton, 45, a regular guest at the parties. "We're all frustrated."

---

If they're all frustrated, I guess the parties aren't going quite as well as advertised.

Brother Brumley,

Maybe they'll get this bumper sticker for their cause:

When sex is outlawed, only outlaws will have sex.

DISCLAIMER: The above statement only applies to consensual sex between consenting adults.