Laredo Weekly

Array of Legal Talent Employed, While Two Assistant Attorneys Generals Will Come From Austin to Assist District Attorney John A. Valls.

An array of genuine legal talent for the defense of the four officials of the former State Bank & Trust Co., of Laredo, and two assistant attorney generals from the Texas attorney general's department to assist the district attorney in the prosecution of the twenty-three cases will confront district court of the 49th Judicial District to Laredo on Wednesday, May 9, when the trial of the cases will begin.

Of the 23 bills returned April 19 in the bank investigation seven bills of indictment charging embezzlement and misapplication of bank funds were returned against Royle K. Mims, president of the First State Bank & Trust Co.; ten bills of indictment on similar charges were returned against L. A. Lafon, vice-president of the banking institution; fourteen bills of indictment were returned against Rafael M. Martinez, cashier of the former bank, charging him with embezzlement, misapplication of funds and making false entries, and five bills of indictment were returned against Serapio Vela, assistant cashier of the former bank, charging him with conspiracy to embezzle bank funds, secreting bank records and embezzlement. Mims was released on bond of $7,000, Lafon on bond of $10,000, Martinez on bond of $14,000 and Vela on bond of $5,000 or $1,000 on each bill of indictment returned by the grand jury.

All the defendants were prominent in the banking and business life of Laredo and the returning of the large number of indictments against them following the closing of the doors of the First State Bank & Trust Co. on February 25 and the subsequent confession of R. M. Martinez, cashier, that he had embezzled funds to the amount of $120,000, created much interest.

R. Mims has employed as his defense counsel Doug C. & Dougherty of Beeville; John L. Dannelley of San Antonio; Pope, Pope & Pope and Gordon Gibson of Laredo. Rafael M. Martinez has employed as his defense counsel M. J. Raymon of Laredo, while Serapio Vela has employed as his defense counsel Hicks, Hicks, Dickinson & Bobbitt of Laredo. Lafon's counsel has not as yet been announced.

District Attorney John A. Valls has been assigned two assistants from the attorney general's department of Texas to assist in the prosecution of the cases against the four former bank officials, these being H. Grady Chandler and Galloway Calhoun. Both these attorneys will be in Laredo a day or two before the beginning of the trials to confer with District Attorney Valls and be prepared to give him material assistance in the prosecution of the cases. The cases have been set on the criminal docket of district court to cover May 9, 10, 11 and 12, but how many of the twenty-three cases will be actually tried in district court remains to be determined.

On last Saturday the attorneys for Royle K. Mims filed a motion to compel the district attorney to allow them to inspect records and papers of the First State Bank & Trust Co. now in possession of District Attorney John A. Valls and the state banking commissioner of Texas. This motion was heard in district court last Saturday afternoon and was contested by the district attorney, and after hearing the arguments in the motion Judge J. F. Mullally overruled the motion. It was on these records and papers and other incriminating evidence that the grand jury based the batch of indictments they returned against the four former bank officials.

It is expected that one of the greatest crowds of interested persons that have gathered in the district courtroom since the trial of the Roberts murder case several years ago will be on hand to listen to the proceedings in the trials of the four former bank officials beginning next Monday and probably consuming the greater portion of the week.