The source of the former Edinburg police chief’s whistleblower lawsuit is a man who believed he was wrongfully arrested last year and was upset because he said an investigator was not willing to help him, but allegedly would help his cousin with legal matters, according to a harassment complaint.
That complaint was filed by internal affairs investigator Rogelio Paez and details allegations made by Ramon Chasco against traffic investigator Armando Celedon, a high-ranking police union member previously targeted by internal affairs and former Chief Cesar Torres.
This complaint is at the heart of Torres’ whistleblower lawsuit against the city of Edinburg, where he alleges city manager Ron Garza fired him for reporting Chasco’s allegations to the FBI while allegedly trying to “chill” that investigation.
The city denies this and the FBI does not confirm or deny the existence of investigations, though Torres claims in court documents that there is an active investigation.
Torres was fired in late May following a neutral arbiter’s ruling that he discriminated against two police officers for their membership and activity in a police union, along with other numerous instances where the city says he failed at executive management and completing objectives.
In short, the lawsuit alleges that traffic investigator Armando Celedon was involved in an insurance fraud scheme with Chasco’s relatives.
Celedon was previously targeted by internal affairs and was arrested on a charge of tampering with government records and was later no-billed by a grand jury. He sued and was reinstated to his position with back pay.
This occurred after Celedon, who opposed Torres’ request to the union to allow for lateral hires, filed a report with the Texas Rangers against an assistant Chief Torres promoted from patrol to the executive position.
Those allegations centered around the alleged unauthorized purchase of Jennifer Lopez tickets with the union credit card. The former assistant chief, who was reassigned to patrol, was never charged with a crime.
It’s not immediately clear when Paez filed the complaint, but it details the report by Chasco, which was made Sept. 17, 2020.
Much of the complaint mirrors the allegations in Torres’ whistleblower lawsuit.
However, the document reveals Chasco’s motive for making the allegations to internal affairs.
“Ramon then claimed that the only reason he came forward with the allegations is because he believed that he was unlawfully arrested by Investigator Celedon during the month of July (2020),” Paez wrote in the complaint.
According to Paez, Chasco claimed he was arrested for a hit-and-run accident even after providing Celedon with proof of insurance approximately four to five days before his arrest.
“Ramon then stated that he was upset after Investigator Celedon arrested him because he (Ramon) asked Investigator Celedon to assist him with the case while it was ongoing, but Investigator Celedon refused to do so after claiming that the victim in the hit and run was his friend,” Paez wrote in the report. “Ramon also claimed that he was upset because Investigator Celedon has helped his cousin … with legal matters on multiple occasions, but was not willing to help him.”
The Monitor is not identifying the cousin because he has not been charged with a crime and because Paez did not quote or paraphrase anything from an interview with him in the harassment complaint.
A probable cause affidavit for Chasco’s arrest on a charge of duty on striking an unattended vehicle says that on July 6, 2020, at about 6:30 p.m. a police officer responded to the 500 block of East Samano in reference to a hit-and-run incident.
The officer spoke with a man who said a red and black Ford F-150 hit his son’s 2001 gray Chevrolet Silverado.
The officer spoke with the homeowner at that location and reviewed video showing the Ford backing out of a neighboring driveway and hitting the Chevrolet, according to the affidavit.
The neighbor told the officer the Ford belonged to Chasco, police say.
Celedon spoke with Chasco on July 13, 2020, who told the investigator that he was the driver of the Ford that hit the truck, according to the affidavit.
“Investigator Celedon will testify that Mr. Chasco stated that he was not going to pay for any damage,” the affidavit stated.
That document further states that the homeowner told Celedon that he wanted to file criminal charges against Chasco.
Chasco is charged with a class B misdemeanor and currently has a warrant for failing to appear at his arraignment hearing, court records indicate.
This is not his only legal trouble.
Chasco has been arrested approximately eight times dating back to 1993, records show.
Those cases include resisting arrest, aggravated assault, two DWIs, assault causes bodily injury to a family member and accident involving damage to a vehicle over another allegation of leaving the scene of an accident, court records indicate.
He was most recently arrested on June 4 on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
A probable cause affidavit for this arrest alleges that Chasco hit a man with a shovel in the 6700 block of Tapadillo Drive during an altercation over his nephew’s alleged use of Xanax.
That man and Chasco’s nephew began fighting back, knocking Chasco to the ground, according to the affidavit, which says Chasco then crawled to his truck before attempting to hit the man with his Ford F150 truck.
Chasco has not been indicted over these allegations.
As for Torres, his whistleblower is currently in the hands of the 13th Court of Appeals after the city of Edinburg filed an appeal when 139th state District Judge Roberto “Bobby” Flores denied a procedural motion filed by the city that may have ended the former chief’s lawsuit.
