Judge Pfeuffer’s ruling last Friday at long last heralds the beginning of justice in Hays County for Carolyn Logan and for other citizens who suffer the wrath of corrupt public officials
By Charles O'Dell
Contributing Editor
A prolonged injustice being inflicted by public officials on local San Marcos Angora goat raiser, Carolyn Logan, was dealt a serious blow Friday, September 2, 2011, when Senior District Judge, Robert T. Pfeuffer vacated his March 2008 decision in the Nick Ramus law suit filed against Hays County in June 2007 (Cause No. 07-1023).The Ramus suit against Hays County was at the heart of a political plot orchestrated by elected officials trying to oust former Hays County Judge Liz Sumter (D) from office. The plot required elected officials to support and protect staff employees who conspired with Ramus, committed perjury and broke other state laws they had sworn to uphold.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Will Conley (R), and former Pct 2 Commissioner Jeff Barton (D) had encouraged Nick Ramus to sue the County following a 3-2 vote led by County Judge Liz Sumter on April 17, 2007; a vote that revoked Ramus’ septic permit illegally issued by Tom Pope, Hays County Environmental Health Department’s septic program manager.
The Barton/Conley plan was to settle the bogus Ramus suit at great taxpayer cost and blame it all on Judge Sumter to drive her out of office. Barton and Conley had many Good Ole Boy accomplices.
One accomplice was local attorney Charles Soechting who went before commissioners’ court shortly after the April 2007 vote to revoke Ramus’ permit and following a public tongue lashing called for Judge Sumter to resign.
On March 11, 2008, Jim Green published an ill timed letter-to-the-editor on Newstreamz.com claiming that he had inside information of a settlement in the making during commissioners’ court executive session. It appears Commissioner Conley gave Green the green light to publish his insider “scoop,” but Logan thwarted any settlement with Ramus, thereby saving Hays County taxpayers as much as one million dollars.
Political Dirty Trick Foiled
Nick Ramus ran for county commissioner
Pct. 1 as a Republican in 2008/Statesman photo
Pct. 1 as a Republican in 2008/Statesman photo
The Barton/Conley political dirty trick was foiled when Carolyn Logan, who stood to suffer the consequences of Ramus’ illegal septic system, filed as an Intervener in the Ramus suit. Now there could be no costly county settlement with Ramus without Logan’s agreement.Logan’s position was simple and steadfast: “I still want my rights to the law, because I am not willing to let my land be used for Ramus' drain field for the illegal commercial system that is in operation because of Tom Pope's corrupt actions and by this twice convicted Public Nuisance.”
After it became clear that Logan wouldn’t agree to any county settlement with Ramus, much less any “million dollar” settlement, the Ramus suit went into a state of limbo over the next three years. Barton and Conley let the stalled suit fade from public view while they worked to find a solution for Logan’s blockade of their political dirty trick.
Part of their planned solution was to, “clean up Ramus.” With backing from Conley and Hays County Republican Party Chair, Linda Kinney, Ramus ran unsuccessfully as their candidate for Pct 1 County Commissioner in 2008. You can dress Ramus up but you can’t take him out in public. The Texas Ethics Commission assessed Nick Ramus a fine for violations of the state election code.
Finally, on March 3, 2011, inaction in the Ramus suit caused District Court Judge Charles Ramsey to issue Notice of Dismissal Docket to dismiss the Ramus suit for lack of prosecution (DWOP).
In a last ditch attempt to bully Logan into agreeing to a settlement with Ramus, Hays County Judge Bert Cobb (R) blurted out at a March 31, 2011, meeting in his office attended by Logan, Pct 1 Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe (D) and Chief of Staff, Lon Shell, “I have a district judge in place and he is going to order you (Logan) to pay Ramus' attorney fees and grant him a legal permit if you (Logan) don't agree to a settlement." (An Open Letter to Judge Cobb: "So go ahead and threaten me with your district judge")
Political Protection
Since taking office in 2007, Hays County District Attorney Sherri Tibbe (D) has refused to investigate credible allegations of corrupt official behavior, or to press charges against twice convicted Ramus for being a public nuisance. Three convictions of the same misdemeanor crime constitute a felony.
In July 2011, Tibbe received a well documented complaint against Ramus showing multiple aggravated criminal perjury. At last report her office has not yet received subpoenaed records.
Current Status
In his ruling last Friday Judge Pfeuffer denied all motions for partial summary judgment and dismissed the Ramus suit for want of prosecution. In effect, the Ramus suit never existed.
Ramus continues to use his illegal septic system as his residential septic on a “temporary” county permit. Ramus has never owned a restaurant or operated a legal food business but now there is concern that the Cobb commissioners’ court will grant Ramus one or more variances for his illegal septic system to save face and keep Ramus from turning on them.
Ramus is currently awaiting a ruling from the Third Court of Appeals on his April 27, 2010 deadly conduct conviction. Notice was given on September 2, 2011 that appeal briefs will be submitted to the three judge panel consisting of Chief Justice J. Woodfin “Woodie” Jones, Justice Diane Henson and Justice Bob Pemberton. A ruling by the panel is expected within a couple of months.
Judge Pfeuffer’s dismissal brings this sorry matter closer to a just ending and drives yet another nail in the political coffins of Hays County Pct 3 Commissioner Will Conley, County District Attorney Sherri Tibbe and County Judge Bert Cobb who, after his 2010 election, joined in the Ramus plot, and dashes any future political hopes of former Pct 2 Hays County Commissioner Jeff Barton who last year failed in his run for county judge.
Pfeuffer’s ruling is also expected to impact the careers of attorneys Mark Kennedy, Special Counsel for Commissioners Court, Ramus’ Dripping Springs attorney Skip Newsom, and Kenneth Bass, outside counsel for Commissioners’ Court.
Judge Pfeuffer’s ruling last Friday at long last heralds the beginning of justice in Hays County for Carolyn Logan and for other citizens who suffer the wrath of corrupt public officials.
20 comments:
Good piece of writing, Mr. O'Dell.
I'll second that Rocky. I hope the commissioners court has the good sense and just fairness to follow the judge's lead. His ruling restores the original 3 to 2 vote under Sumter denying the Ramus septic permit.
That bloody septic system should be fixed and brought up to standards. And so should Ramus, unless he's really got something on some members of the court.
Stop the political protection and pandering now. So says the judge!
This whole Ramus affair has stunk to high heaven from the start.
One only wonders what kind of dirt ol' Nick has on Tom Pope, Jeff Barton and others, because how else could somebody could look at Ramus's mess, his behavior and that septic system of his and think this was just fine and dandy. This has never been right and Mrs. Logan has shown incredible courage in the face of this Hays County corruption.
I hate to say it, but this is not the kind of thing that happens in places like Travis County, where the rule of law tends to be better served...as are the citizens.
This case has always needed the light of day shone on it by someone outside the crony network taking a good hard look and seeing what kind of weird decisions have been made over and over again.
Too bad Ramus doesn't have any money, because he owes Mrs. Logan bigtime.
You've got to be kidding. You won't publish Peter Stern's articles but you will publish this kind of delusional conspiracy silliness?
I'll take O'Dell's gumshoe reporting any day over Stern's rehashed trite political commentary - rick perry is a thief and a liar blah blah blah. I believe that Charlie is on the money on this one. Explain why Carolyn Logan was pressured by Cobb to settle and why the DA hasn't thrown the book at Ramus for lying under oath about his military service. Something wicked is going on. Thank goodness for judges like Pfeuffer for seeing thru all the corrupt legal manipulation. A crack US attorney is what we need to take these corrupt officials on a long overdue perp walk.
Anonymous says:
"I'll take O'Dell's gumshoe reporting any day over Stern's rehashed trite political commentary - rick perry is a thief and a liar blah blah blah."
It is interesting how people can't handle a true conservative (Stern) strongly criticizing an abusive big government Republican politician (Perry).
"You've got to be kidding. You won't publish Peter Stern's articles but you will publish this kind of delusional conspiracy silliness?"
Surely you know it is because Stern is a fair minded Conservative Libertarian and O'Dell is a Self-Aggrandizing Liberal. Conservatives are really just barley tolerated here and publishing O'Dell's grinding diatribes must be some kind of sympathy trip.
Cobb the Un-reformer, Conley the Un-righteous, Ramus the Un-truthful Un-business owner, Tibbe the Un-DA, Kennedy the Un-faithful to his own lawyer code of ethics, and Barton, the Un-done. Sounds like the lead in to a Dirty Harry movie script.
Or as Harry Callahan said:
"Their legend's in their own minds"
Well, well... Now its real sticky for the Commissioners Court. Debbie Ingalsbe is on record many times over as stating Ramus' septic system was illegal and not worthy of a permit.
So yes, the court must shut him down until he's properly permitted... lawfully. Will Ingalsbe stand up and defend her Pct 1 residents?
Keep in mind Ramus' illegal system sits right next door to all those young folks at San Marcos High School (go Rattlers!).
Do you think parents would be more concerned about that, or about him standing on his property pointing a modified (illegal) shotgun at his other neighbor?
"Do you think parents would be more concerned about that, or about him standing on his property pointing a modified (illegal) shotgun at his other neighbor?"
That story of a "modified illegal shotgun" has been put to bed a long time ago. It was a legal shotgun but would have only been a violation if used for duck hunting due to the number of shells it coulod hold. It was unplugged! Most anti-gun liberals wouldn't understand what that means.
Ms. Carolyn Logan is a certified bad-ass.
She's had sewage pumped on to her grazing land, a shotgun pointed at her, and the political energies of two very powerful politicians, in their official capacities, pointed at her while her own Commissioner simply watched.
She's been slammed in the papers, on this blog and around the county by Conley, Barton, Green, the Kinney's, and their supporters. For Ramus? Yes. For Pope? Isn't he the guy that shot that Hispanic boy? Yes. These are sick, sick people.
Ms. Logan is neither young nor wealthy. It was her money and her lawyer that kept Hays County from settling with Ramus for $750,000+. Her 4 years of having to put up with this fiasco and seeking justice in the protection of her rights.
And on top of ALL that... Judge Cobb uses the color of his office and his official capacities to intimidate her. That's WAY outside of o.k. And he had no idea who he was dealing with.
Ms. Logan has stared down the biggest political muscle in this county. But its not quite over.
Now I wonder if they're going to try to carry on the charade, or cut their losses and do the right thing... shut down Ramus. We'll find out... Its an election year, and there's a whole lotta people watching this.
Ms. Carolyn Logan is a bad-ass.
Ramus still has not produced his DD214.
De Facto evidence that he is a pathalogical liar and always looking for "something for nothing".
Dr O'dell is a righthous man, Ms. Logan is an outstanding citizen.
Odell figures that if he keeps repeating his untruthful writings enough, someone is bound to start believing him. And that is all this article is. Also, Carolyn Logan is not a badass, she's more of a stinky one. She hired a backhoe driver to push dirt through her fence onto Ramus' property and he was fed up with her harassment. All he did was walk out on his own property, with a gun, and tell the backhoe operator to stay the hell off of his property. So why does a blog that tries to publish real news items publish Odell's fictional stories?
"Odell figures that if he keeps repeating his untruthful writings enough, someone is bound to start believing him."
If what I repeatedly write is untruthful, doesn't that make it libelous and/or slanderous?
Why doesn't someone about whom I have written untruthfully sue me?
I would welcome such a suit. Think of all those who I could subpoena and depose under oath.
We have attorneys on the ready.
Charles, if you get sued for this article, I will donate $100.00 to your legal fund.
Just remember to write an article in the Roundup or let Ochoa know that you are being sued so I know when to write the check.
Way to go Carolyn Logan and Charles O'Dell--people of courage
Now it is time for county officials to do the right thing and shut Ramus down for good.
It looks to me like Libertarian Soul wants to revive affirmative action and make the Roundup Editor give he and his right wing nuts a forum to spew their ideological insipidness. What hypocrisy.
Poor Libertarian Soul. You are so discriminated against. Btw, isn't that what you always wanted? To rid the word of forced acceptance?
Now I know why a later commenter called you "Liberace Soul."
Nobody has tried to sue you O'Dell because you are not worth the time and effort. Of course they would win but it's not worth it just to say that they bested a delusional man in court..,,then not collect a penny. Every person who has extensive knowledge of this matter knows you throw in lots of little untruths to bolster your agenda of assisting your "close aqaintance" Carolyn ... By the way, she is not an angora goat farmer. She has angora goats on her property that she is developing, so that she can maintain an ag exception. She doesn't sheer or care for them and shoots them when they get tangled up in their six foot long dreadlocks.
Anonymous Darkman says:
"Nobody has tried to sue you O'Dell because you are not worth the time and effort. Of course they would win but it's not worth it just to say that they bested a delusional man in court..,,then not collect a penny."
Typical right winger. All words and no action. We always here such dribble but they always are too afraid to test the truth.
Easy to say; takes intelligence to prove.
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