June 22, 2013

Gang of Eight backer forms Gang of One, robs 19 banks

Police artist sketch
From the Dallas Morning News:
Farmers Branch immigrant-rights activist accused of being ‘Mesh Mask Bandit’

By DIANNE SOLÍS and TANYA EISERER Staff Writers

Updated: 22 June 2013 08:13 AM 
An immigrant rights activist from Farmers Branch is suspected of being a prolific bank robber known as the Mesh Mask Bandit, the FBI says. 
Mug shot, 6/21/13
Luis de la Garza, 59, appeared in federal court Friday in connection with the armed robbery of a Wells Fargo bank in April. Authorities believe he has robbed at least 18 other banks in nine area cities. 
... The witness who saw the man without his mask before and after the robbery helped authorities with a sketch that the FBI circulated in May.... 
The witness at the Wells Fargo bank later identified de la Garza in a lineup, officials said.  ...
De la Garza, a Mexican immigrant, spoke out about immigration policies, including those in Farmers Branch, where he has lived for at least a decade. 

The American citizens of Farmers Branch, an inner ring suburb of Dallas, have repeatedly been sneered at in the national media for trying to take steps to lessen the inundation of illegal aliens in their town.
Gang of One in action
He was credited with developing a low-power Spanish-language television station, TeleAmerica, in the 1990s and had served on a prominent advisory committee of about 100 immigrants to the Mexican government’s Foreign Relations Ministry. 
While he was on probation in the tax evasion case, de la Garza requested permission to travel to Mexico City in 2006 because he had received an invitation to attend inauguration events for then President-elect Felipe Calderón. 
The court records included a copy of the invitation. It appears he received permission to take the trip. 
Juan Hernandez, an immigrant adviser to former Mexican President Vicente Fox, said he was surprised by the allegations against de la Garza. 

From the Wikipedia article on Luis de la Garza:
In 1994 he founded TeleAmerica a Spanish speaking television station that broadcasted 24 hours and served the Hispanic community giving them a venue to openly express their opinion.[citation needed] A couple of years later it became TeleAmerica Spanish Network, broadcasting to different states through independent stations but still under the TeleAmerica logo.[citation needed] 
De la Garza was not good to his employees. On payday, his employees at TeleAmerica would have to rush to the bank to cash paychecks because there were always insufficient funds in the account. 
By then Luis de la Garza had become very politically active within the Hispanic community and his Show Foro 44 had made a name for itself. Considering the needs of immigrants in the United States,[1] he began working with Mexican Governors,[2] Senators, Congressmen and the President to establish a relationship between the Mexicans in Mexico and the Mexicans in the United States.[3] Luis de la Garza also became very active with American politicians, meeting with Senators and Congressmen to change the lives of many immigrants that had no voice, peacefully protesting against radical law proposals and organizing the Hispanic community to become politically active.
Foro 44 (originated from TeleAmerica's flagship station KLEG-LP), served as a platform for interviewing personalities live, such as President George W. Bush, President Vicente Fox,[4] Mexican Governors, Congressmen and Senators from Mexico and the United States. Never forgetting the importance of local issues his show always has kept a deep commitment to education, health, business and local politics. 
Luis de la Garza having always been very business oriented founded a new organization (RETO Group/ Representacion Total) with this organization he has been able to establish direct communication with business people in Mexico and the United States creating new opportunities for development and investment. 
Luis de la Garza has been the recipient of many recognition awards, including one of the most influential media personalities by Hispanic 100 two times in a row[5] ,[6] The Latino Peace officers, Who’s Talking (issued by the Dallas Morning News as one of the best Talk Shows), The Venegas Foundation, The Arlington Hispanic Advisory Council, LULAC and the Citizens Award (presented by the Dallas Police) just to name a few, Mr. de la Garza is a speaker on immigration issues, he has been invited and participated in national and international forums, radio and television shows, campaigns, conventions, schools and private functions.
Activist cuts out middlemen
In 2006, Luis de la Garza took a break from media and but not from politics, he is currently founding a new television station, hosting his radio talk show ConSentido[7] and very active as a businessman creating new projects, such as manufacturing license plates while in prison for bank robbery, and building bigger bridges between Mexicans in Mexico and Mexicans in the United States. Because he believes that the only way to change things is to participate, be active and always create for future generations. 

I suspect "such as manufacturing license plates while in prison for bank robbery" is a very recent interpolation in Wikipedia.

From a 2008 article on the Republican National Convention:
Despite Anti-Immigrant GOP, Some Latinos Are Sticking With McCain

Written by Martín Martínez 
Posted on 2008-09-12 
For Texas delegate Luis de la Garza, immigration reform is the best weapon McCain has to attract the Latino vote, one he will continue to use even if his party rebels against him.  
"McCain is always going to support immigration reform and he won't rest until he sees Congress approve it because he knows very well that it's necessary to fix the immigration system, even if that costs him enemies in his own party, and also because, being a Senator from Arizona, he knows the needs of our people first-hand," De la Garza explained.  
... "No politician or candidate understands the needs of the Latino community better than McCain. That's why he's committed himself not just to naturalizing 12 million undocumented immigrants but also to providing the tools Latinos need to get ahead in all aspects of life in this country," De la Garza said. 

Note, that I can't prove at the moment that this is the same Luis de la Garza from Texas, but whoever this one is, he is an acute judge of Senator McCain, perhaps as an illustration of the rule of thumb that it takes one to know one.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

'Bandit' is 'racist'. The man had a dream. Let him keep his loot.

Anonymous said...

I suspect "such as manufacturing license plates while in prison for bank robbery" is a very recent interpolation in Wikipedia.

This is classic, as is the title of this post. Steve is invaluable.

Anonymous said...

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/21/19081188-former-border-patrol-agents-sentenced-to-30-years-in-immigrant-smuggling-case

Anonymous said...

'Bandit' is 'racist'. The man had a dream. Let him keep his loot.

Agreed. "Bandit" is blatant dog-whistle terminology. He is a community wealth redistributor.

Anonymous said...

This fella's biography illustrates very tidily a broader point which Heartiste has been just hammering home lately - namely that so many of these people who are attracted to endeavors like postmodern politics are nothing more than utterly nihilistic sociopaths who share a great deal in common [psychologically] with e.g. mass murderers.

Anonymous said...

re: recent update - yes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Luis_de_la_Garza&diff=561071918&oldid=561011126

There's a 'view history' link at the top of every page - some diligent wikipedia-er should clean that up.

Anonymous said...

This is the sort of job most Americans just won't do.

DYork said...

Pretty good police sketch artist they have in that town.

Jonathan Silber said...

Regarding the masked and armed robber, at the bank teller's window,
who figures in one of the photos
illustrating the post:

Is he seen at that moment living in the Shadows, or coming out of them?

Jonathan Silber said...

Regarding the masked and armed robber,
at the bank teller's window, who figures in one of the images illustrating the post:

Is he to be seen at that moment as living in the Shadows or as coming out of them?

Anonymous said...

He is 59 years old? Doesn't look like it. Usually as people get older they mellow out and even criminals get tired of their own antics.

eah said...

Hola! Dinero por favor!

Karl's Jr. Rove said...

Don't disrespect a future Republican voter. Enough guys like this on our side because of amnesty, and Romney is a shoo-in for '16.

Anonymous said...

Honest question is that really a good sketch of the guy or not?

This may just be bad pattern recognition on my part but I definitely wouldn't have been able to identify the guy from the sketch.

alexis said...

This is up there with Malcolm X's grandson getting killed in Mexico City while hanging out with an "immigration activist" outside of a drag bar called "Diversity".

Anonymous said...

ooh, this is a fun game! can i play?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/19/chris-simcox-minuteman-arrested_n_3469474.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

MKP said...

"and very active as a businessman creating new projects, such as manufacturing license plates while in prison for bank robbery"

I'm gonna piss myself

Steve Sailer said...

DYork said...
"Pretty good police sketch artist they have in that town."

Anonymous said ...
"This may just be bad pattern recognition on my part but I definitely wouldn't have been able to identify the guy from the sketch."

I think both are true. The witness and the police sketch artist did well above average work together in this case, but the final step of "catching a likeness" that caricaturists do appears to be just about impossible for witnesses and police artists to pull off.

the president said...

Texas can fend alone anyway!

Funds have been earmarked for those persecuted American citizens who sorely need them instead.

Anonymous said...

the editwar over that line is glorious. Also amazing how someone came in 7 hours later to "fix" it.

Skeptical Economist said...

It's not bank robbery, it's 'undocumented withdrawal'

Anonymous said...

Both the original post and the comments are the sorts of reasons why I keep coming back here.

LOL@
"community wealth redistributor"
"Don't disrespect a future Republican voter. Enough guys like this on our side because of amnesty, and Romney is a shoo-in for '16."
'undocumented withdrawal'

and the original wikipedia edit, that was comedy gold!

Anonymous said...

He is 59 years old? Doesn't look like it. Usually as people get older they mellow out and even criminals get tired of their own antics.

Ironically enough, Heartiste is speculating about that very sort of thing - what life must be like for the aging sociopath - right now, on his front page:

"The problem of isolation arises because, in truth, many obligate womanizers are psychologically unsound. The men who are most successful with women are also the most sociopathic. Chicks may dig dark triad men, but other men don’t dig them so much. This encourages social isolation from same-sex peers, which is compounded when the womanizer is young, and just beginning his journey to endarkenment. The isolation grows in proportion to the number of friends who have gotten married off, because wives pretty much make it their mission in life to sever their husbands’ ties to any remaining single male friends who are still having a blast slashing and burning through dense forests of bush."

Mr. Anon said...

"Anonymous said...

Honest question is that really a good sketch of the guy or not?

This may just be bad pattern recognition on my part but I definitely wouldn't have been able to identify the guy from the sketch."

I don't remember ever seeing a police sketch that looked like the person who was eventually arrested for the crime.

Sam Haysom said...

Mr. Sailer your comment about "likeness" got me thinking about that internet meme that went around with the black newscaster reporting a suspect sketch that looked exactly like him. Maybe that sketch artist needs to give courses.

Sam Haysom said...

I take that back I just looked up the video of that incident and the sketch really isn't that close to the newscaster either.

Truth said...

"I don't remember ever seeing a police sketch that looked like the person who was eventually arrested for the crime."

I heard yours was spot on.