LULAC - The Hokus Pokus Charges to Suspend the National Treasurer

The Editor: According to the LULAC Constitution, "[c]harges against a member or officer may be brought by a Local Council, a member, or another officer..."  "Charges must be in writing, sworn to by the individual or council and giving the name of the accused and the details of causes[.]"

The question for LULAC is who was the "Council," "member" or "Officer" who brought the charges against Summer Gonzales and where is the "writing, sworn to by the individual or council?"

The charges are laid out in the communique that the LULAC National President sent to Summer Gonzales, but do not seem to be events that one authority could swear to, but rather a series of events that are fused together to create the "charges."

The charges do not hold up in a due process examination most mainland LULAC'ers are accustomed to in their work environment, in their political environment, in their education environment.

Charge Number 1 is full of hallucinations, the type you hear at a bar. A "non-Board member." Why not say a ghost non-Board member. "[A]nd engaged in a process that was designed to provide incorrect and unverified Confidential Information to the press."

What is the "process" that the unnamed accuser is speaking about?

What is the "incorrect and unverified Confidential Financial Information" that the accuser is speaking about?

The press in America is endless, so what "press" is the accuser speaking about?

Charge Number 1 reads like the story of Gregorio Cortez in Kennedy, Texas in 1901, a Mexican who was chased all over south Texas and eventually captured. The incident that resulted in the first shooting involved a mistranslation of the word mare, the gringo deputy asking about a horse, got a response back from the Cortez that the trade involved a caballo, a horse, not a mare, a yegua. Cortez was tried several times, in Gonzales, Karnes City, Pleasanton, Goliad, Wharton County, Corpus Christi and Columbus, Texas. The gringo system could not get a conviction, so they kept moving the case to another jurisdiction to get a convention. In 1905, Cortez was sentenced to life in Huntsville and in 1913, Governor Oscar Colquitt gave Gregorio Cortez a conditional pardon. The shootings that Gregorio Cortez was involved in were in self-defense, the reasoning behind each court verdict up until the Columbus court. The gringos wanted justice and finally got it in Columbus. Today's due process standards would have stopped the courtroom chase against Gregorio Cortez.

Charge No. 1 also takes us to the 1953 case known as Hernandez v Texas.  Pete Hernandez had been tried and sentenced to life for the murder of Jose Espinoza in Jackson County, Texas. Attorneys John J. Herrera, Gus Garcia, Carlos Cadena and James DeAnda took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that the due process and equal protection principles guaranteed under the provisions of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution had been breached when Hernandez, being denied Hispanics on the jury,  had been indicted by an all-white jury and had been tried and found guilty. The Court reversed the Texas courts and remanded the case back to Texas. The court held Texas had denied Hernandez the due process rights guaranteed him under the provisions of the 14th Amendment. The Hernandez case is a well-known case in LULAC in that it involved John Herrera, the National President of LULAC. Other persons involved in the case included Mario Obledo, another major figure in the case would eventually be elected as National President of LULAC. The Hernandez case is the case that led to the founding of MALDEF. The Hernandez case also brought in Dr. Hector Garcia and the American G.I. Forum.

LULAC'er know a lot about due process and equal protection. LULAC'ers can spot a due process and an equal protection under the law abuser and cheater a mile away.

Charge Number 1 is hokus pokus. It is full of holes. It does not align with the due process and equal protection LULAC'ers expect from the society they live in, and it is not a process that LULAC'ers expect from elected LULAC officers who cobbled the elements of Charge Number 1 together.

The accuser is not identified. The charge seems to flow out of a conversation at a bar at 2 o’clock in the morning.

The LULAC Constitution assigns the LULAC National Treasurer with 8 significant responsibilities:

(1) To receive and place in a bank designated by the Treasurer with the approval of the National Executive Committee all monies paid into the National Treasury such as charter fees, membership dues, assessments, contributions and donations, and payments for pins, Constitutions and other items which the League provides for sale to members. Said monies may be deposited under various accounts as may be approved by the National Board of Directors or as provided for in the Constitution and Bylaws;

(2) To cause his/her signature and that of the National President to be registered at the bank and to co‑sign all checks for disbursements for authorized expenditures with the National President;

(3) To keep and maintain up to date a set of books as dictated by proper accounting procedures;

(4) To make written monthly reports to the members of the National Executive Committee on the status of the National Treasury, showing all income received and its sources, accounts receivable, disbursements with the names of payees and the cause of each thereof, encumbered amounts, and balances of all accounts. Said reports shall be made within thirty days of the close of each month;

(5) To require by authority of this Constitution a quarterly financial report and an annual audited financial statement from the Chairman and Board of Directors of each LULAC subsidiary corporation, including the LULAC Foundation, the LULAC Education Service Centers, LULAC Communications, Inc., SER, Jobs for Progress and each LULAC Housing project;

(6) To see that all outstanding accounts of the National Office, with the exception of last-minute National Convention expenses pertaining to the National President and authorized staff, have been settled by the time he or she closes the books for auditing purposes and reports to the National Assembly;

(7) To cause an audit to be made of the accounts by a Certified Public Accountant who may be a LULAC member but not a member of the National Board of Directors or of the National Office Staff. Said audit to be carried out in May or June but before the National Convention, at which time he/she will turn it over to the National LULAC Auditing Committee along with his/her books of accounts, canceled checks, receipts, quarterly and audit reports of the housing projects, and other documentation; 

(8) To turn over to his/her successor a check or checks for the full amounts in each bank account, the complete set of accounting records, audit reports or his/her accounts and those of the Housing Projects, and any other documentation pertaining thereto.

The charge does not relate any element of the Charge Number 1 to any of the 8 major areas of responsibility tasked to the LULAC National Treasurer by the LULAC Constitution.

In Charge Number 2, the unidentified accuser states that the National Treasurer sought an "assistant" to review the LULAC Confidential Financial Statement. The assistant is not identified. There is nothing wrong with the LULAC National Treasurer asking a person with knowledge of financial systems to review the financial record of the account's, i.e., National Treasurer, client, i.e., LULAC. The CPA Code of Ethics refers to a "professional duty of care" that the CPA accountant must pursue to explore accounting matters that raises levels of skepticism for the CPA, i.e., Treasurer. The only third party consulted by the National Treasurer is a 30-year retired banker, with a 40-year membership status with LULAC. The National Treasurer was not sharing information for sharing sake, but for an analysis by another pair of accounting eyes. Who else, but a retired banker, who could read accounting spread sheets that he was asked to review with ease given his banking experience.

In Charge Number 3, the unidentified accuser alleges that the National Treasurer created a YouTube video of a finance report she had prepared for the LULAC Board. The YouTube video was encrypted with a password code, made available to the LULAC Board members. The encrypted password was published in full by the National LULAC President in his Notice of Suspension communique to the National Treasurer on October 15, 2024. This communique has now been shared by third party supporters of the National Treasurer, including legal counsel.

The Editor has seen the video about 45 days after the date of the suspension communique and will present it to LULAC'ers who are following this developing story. The video is Sundance, Cannes, Golden Globe quality. The video tells the viewer a story of the LULAC budget, a limited view, because Juan Proano and the Dallas oligarchs who run LULAC today have barred the National Treasurer from having access to most of LULAC's critical bank accounts since 2022.

In Charge Number 4, the unidentified accuser alleges that the YouTube posting was not authorized. The YouTube post was active on October 10, 2024. Notice of its posting was communicated to the Board at the same time. The National LULAC Board was scheduled to meet for its October-November meeting on October 14 and 15, 2024. Embedded in the notice of the posting was the encrypted password/key code. The code is part of the title. The title is pure code. The video was viewable only by the Board members who had the code: https://youtu.be.zm7ctNvoun8

A Russian agent or Mossad agent would be able to break the code without extra effort.

Charge Number 4 further alleges that the information disclosed on the video was not authorized for disclosure. The report was authored by the National Treasurer. The National Treasurer is authorized by the LULAC Constitution to prepare reports on LULAC finances, the report before a scheduled meeting of the National Board in October-November.

Charge Number 4 alleges was not "verified for accuracy..."

All reports of the National Treasurer that are prepared for presentation to members of the National Board will lack verification until they are review by the Board. That, however, does not mean that a report should never be prepared for review. The allegation seems to suggest that a report cannot be prepared before it is approved. That is a twisted logic allegation.

Charge Number 4 also alleges it was posted on YouTube without the "appropriate safeguards to prevent sharing with third parties including the press."

Since its founding days in 1929, LULAC has not developed the tools necessary to keep third parties or the press from learning about LULAC secrets, misdeeds or illegal activity. Given that LULAC is now run by oligarchs, the allegation can be better understood.

Charge Number 4 alleges that "you" (the National Treasurer) "failed to take advantage of efforts to provide you with financial records in accordance with LULAC privacy concerns"

Said the private to the general. The LULAC Constitution puts the National Treasurer in a superior position in LULAC financial matters. LULAC staff cannot decide what to give the National Treasurer when the National Treasurer presents a LULAC Constitutional demand to the LULAC staff for financial records. LULAC staff cannot deny the National Treasurer access to any LULAC financial records. The LULAC staff, from the CEO down to the LULAC janitor does not get to decide what financial record it will give the National Treasurer. The LULAC Constitution gives the National Treasurer superior powers when it comes to LULAC finances, to wit:

(1) To receive and place in a bank designated by the Treasurer with the approval of the National Executive Committee all monies paid into the National Treasury such as charter fees, membership dues, assessments, contributions and donations, and payments for pins, Constitutions and other items which the League provides for sale to members. Said monies may be deposited under various accounts as may be approved by the National Board of Directors or as provided for in the Constitution and Bylaws; (2) To cause his/her signature and that of the National President to be registered at the bank and to co‑sign all checks for disbursements for authorized expenditures with the National President;(3) To keep and maintain up to date a set of books as dictated by proper accounting procedures;(4) To make written monthly reports to the members of the National Executive Committee on the status of the National Treasury, showing all income received and its sources, accounts receivable, disbursements with the names of payees and the cause of each thereof, encumbered amounts, and balances of all accounts. Said reports shall be made within thirty days of the close of each month;(5) To require by authority of this Constitution a quarterly financial report and an annual audited financial statement from the Chairman and Board of Directors of each LULAC subsidiary corporation, including the LULAC Foundation, the LULAC Education Service Centers, LULAC Communications, Inc., SER, Jobs for Progress and each LULAC Housing project;(6) To see that all outstanding accounts of the National Office, with the exception of last minute National Convention expenses pertaining to the National President and authorized staff, have been settled by the time he or she closes the books for auditing purposes and reports to the National Assembly;(7) To cause an audit to be made of the accounts by a Certified Public Accountant who may be a LULAC member but not a member of the National Board of Directors or of the National Office Staff. Said audit to be carried out in May or June but before the National Convention, at which time he/she will turn it over to the National LULAC Auditing Committee along with his/her books of accounts, canceled checks, receipts, quarterly and audit reports of the housing projects, and other documentation; (8) To turn over to his/her successor a check or checks for the full amounts in each bank account, the complete set of accounting records, audit reports or his/her accounts and those of the Housing Projects, and any other documentation pertaining thereto.

Under the LULAC Constitution, the National Treasurer is the unconditional guardian of the finances of LULAC.

"nor work with the LULAC Financial Officer"

Again, the National Treasurer has the final word over LULAC staff regarding LULAC finances. The LULAC National Treasurer does not need to be provided with an opportunity to work with the LULAC Financial Officer. This shoe needs to be turned around. When the National Treasurer demand access to all LULAC bank accounts, the LULAC Financial Officer to should heed the demand and allow the access that is sought. The LULAC Chief Financial Officer is part of the problem. She denied the National Treasurer access to all LULAC bank accounts. If the LULAC Financial Officer was acting on orders from the LULAC CEO, then the LULAC CEO and the LULAC Financial Officer are part of the problem.

Who tells the LULAC National Treasurer the identify and the purpose of a check drawn for $75,000.00 out of one of the LULAC accounts? Both the LULAC CEO and the LULAC Financial Officer know the identity of the benefactor and the purpose of that $75,000.00 draw, but they are not willing to tell the National Treasurer.

"or the LULAC Executive Committee to address your concerns."

The LULAC Executive Committee is led by the oligarchy that controls LULAC today. It is this leadership that caused the suspension of the National Treasurer on October 13, 2024.

What are the LULAC oligarchs trying to hide from the National LULAC Treasurer and from the LULAC members?