CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Texas Attorney General's Office has been called in to investigate some serious allegations facing the Nueces County District Attorney's Office.
The allegations stem from alleged mishandling of funds by the DA's office. The wrongdoing was discovered during an internal investigation conducted by District Attorney Mark Gonzalez.
Gonzalez filed a motion to recuse himself from the investigation because the findings could results in former employees being prosecuted. Those employees have since been asked to resign and no longer work in the DA's office.
The financial accounts in question deal with close to $100,000 in asset forfeiture checks that were not deposited. Instead, they were held onto and placed in files and drawers.
The formal request to the Attorney Genera's Office for an investigation went out in a letter dated Jan. 23, reference "investigative prosecutorial assistance." That request then started a series of court filings.
The next day, Gonzalez filed a motion requesting to recuse himself from the investigation and that an attorney pro-tem, in this case the attorney general, be appointed to investigate. That order was signed and approved by 347th District Court Judge Missy Medary.
Another document was released Friday detailing the reason behind the request. It states "there is a need for an investigation and possibly a need for prosecution related to the financial accounts of the District Attorney's Office."
It goes on to say that the district attorney and his office are fact witnesses to the issues and must recuse themselves, saying Gonzalez wants a full, fair, neutral and independent investigation.