The
peculiar story of a Texas senior law enforcement official remains shrouded in
mystery and intrigue after claims by federal, state and municipal law
enforcement sources that the top cop was criminally indicted for embezzling
millions of dollars in Homeland Security funds.
The
bizarre tale involves Jesus “Eddie” Campa, the former chief deputy of the El
Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPCSO), a Texas agency responsible for patrolling
more than 1,000 square miles with a population of about 700,000. Campa served
in the department as a jailer and officer for two decades, according to public
records. He left the agency earlier this year following the indictment
allegations, supposedly for embezzling $5.6 million in Homeland Security
Investigation (HSI) funds, sources tell JW. After an unusually short stint as
police chief for the Ector County Independent School District in Odessa, Campa
was recently sworn in as police chief in Marshall, a town of about 24,000
residents in northeast Texas.
But
in February, as chief deputy at EPCSO, JW’s law enforcement sources say Campa
was arrested by the FBI and taken to a holding cell at the El Paso FBI office
located at 660 Mesa Hills Drive along with another deputy, Randolph Tabbutt,
who has also left EPCSO. Tabbutt and Campa once owned a business called Rst/Jac
Enterprises Inc. Both men were listed as directors of the business, according
to records obtained by JW from the Texas Secretary of State. In 2003 Tabbutt filed
for bankruptcy and the case wasn’t closed until 2009, according to federal
court records. Details of the case have been sealed from the public, probably
because Tabbutt is a law enforcement officer.
There
appears to be no public record of Campa’s indictment and a spokesman, Daryl
Fields, at the United States Attorney’s office for the Western District of
Texas told JW that he “can neither confirm nor deny” that Campa was indicted.
This response from federal prosecutors seems rather odd, as if there’s a concerted
effort to cover up information related to the case. Multiple messages to the
spokesman (special agent Michael Martinez) at the FBI El Paso office where JW’s
sources say Campa and Tabbutt were detained, went unanswered.
Here’s
what we do have documentation of; around the time JW’s law enforcement sources
say Campa got indicted, he appears to have been stripped of his authority at
EPCSO, an internal document shows. EPCSO Executive Chief Deputy Sylvia Aguilar
sent an electronic mail to all deputies saying that Campa was gone and all
administrative and operational matters were to be rerouted to her. Dated
February 25, 2014, the inner-agency email was titled “Absence of Command” and
said that Chief Deputy Campa was on leave. “Until further notice all communications
on matters involving or requiring Executive level decision making” are to be
sent to Aguilar, the email said.
A
few months later Campa surfaced as the police chief for the Ector County
Independent School District in Odessa. Glowing press reports described Campa as
a “retired” EPCSO chief deputy who planned to establish an anti-bullying
coalition similar to one created in El Paso years earlier. The superintendent
of Ector County schools praised Campa as someone who could relate to the staff,
students and the community. A separate news story quoted Campa saying that the
Ector County job was a “perfect fit” because his aspirations were to become a
chief of police and he was living just a couple of hours from his home city.
But
a few weeks later Campa quietly left the Ector County school job to become
police chief in Marshall, a small town hundreds of miles away. JW has spoken to
Marshall Mayor Ed Smith, who acknowledges that Campa’s work history is
“unusual” but feels confident his new chief has committed no wrongdoing.
Interestingly, Campa’s brief stint at the Ector County school district was
never reported to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) and has been
omitted from his extensive state file, which lists his current job as Marshall
Police Chief. Campa told JW this week that none of the allegations are true and
he doesn’t know where they came from. “It’s all kind of crazy,” he said.
A
Texas senior law enforcement official whose corrupt acts Judicial Watch
reported to the feds years ago, has been ousted from yet another job. His name
is Jesus “Eddie” Campa and back in 2014 federal, state and municipal law
enforcement sources told Judicial Watch the top cop was criminally indicted for
embezzling millions of dollars in Homeland Security funds. At the time Campa was
chief deputy of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPCSO), a Texas agency
responsible for patrolling more than 1,000 square miles with a population of
about 700,000.
Campa
served in the department as a jailer and officer for two decades, according to
public records. He left the agency 2014 following the indictment allegations,
supposedly for embezzling $5.6 million in Homeland Security Investigation (HSI)
funds, according to Judicial Watch sources. After an unusually short stint as
police chief for the Ector County Independent School District in Odessa, Campa
was hired as police chief in Marshall, a town of about 24,000 residents in
northeast Texas. At the time Marshall’s mayor was Ed Smith and he acknowledged
in an interview with Judicial Watch that Campa’s work history was “unusual”
though that didn’t stop the town from hiring the unscrupulous cop. A local news
report says Smith resigned as mayor in May, 2015 for “personal reasons” and
newly elected commissioner Eric Neal took his place.
This
week Campa resigned as chief of the Marshall Police Department, according to a
local newspaper story that quotes him saying “I have made the decision to step
aside to pursue other opportunities that have developed.” The article says
Campa wouldn’t elaborate on the opportunities. It also reveals that Campa is
under investigation by the Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA) for
inappropriately monitoring officers’ vehicles and chastising employees that
speak out against his administration. Sources tell Judicial Watch Campa
practiced similar management skills in El Paso. The TMPA represents more than
24,000 local, county and state law enforcement officers across Texas and the
association was in the process of obtaining records that apparently could be
detrimental to Campa. The abrupt resignation will end the TMPA investigation, a
north Texas representative reveals in the news article.
Just
months before taking over Marshall’s police department, as chief deputy in
EPCSO, Campa was arrested by the FBI and taken to a holding cell at the El Paso
FBI office located at 660 Mesa Hills Drive along with another deputy, Randolph
Tabbutt, who has also left EPCSO. Tabbutt and Campa once owned a business
called Rst/Jac Enterprises Inc. Both men were listed as directors of the business,
according to records obtained by Judicial Watch from the Texas Secretary of
State. In 2003 Tabbutt filed for bankruptcy and the case wasn’t closed until
2009, according to federal court records. Details of the case have been sealed
from the public, probably because Tabbutt is a law enforcement officer.
There
appears to be no public record of Campa’s indictment and a spokesman, Daryl
Fields, at the United States Attorney’s office for the Western District of
Texas told Judicial Watch back in 2014 that he “can neither confirm nor deny”
that Campa was indicted. This response from federal prosecutors seems rather
odd, as if there’s a concerted effort to cover up information related to the
case. Multiple messages to the spokesman (special agent Michael Martinez) at
the FBI El Paso office where Judicial Watch’s sources say Campa and Tabbutt
were detained, went unanswered.
Here’s
what we do have documentation of; around the time Judicial Watch’s law
enforcement sources say Campa got indicted, he appears to have been stripped of
his authority at EPCSO, an internal document shows. EPCSO Executive Chief
Deputy Sylvia Aguilar sent an electronic mail to all deputies saying that Campa
was gone and all administrative and operational matters were to be rerouted to
her. Dated February 25, 2014, the inner-agency email was titled “Absence of
Command” and said that Chief Deputy Campa was on leave. “Until further notice
all communications on matters involving or requiring Executive level decision
making” are to be sent to Aguilar, the email said.
A
few months later Campa surfaced as the police chief for the Ector County
Independent School District. Glowing press reports described Campa as a
“retired” EPCSO chief deputy who planned to establish an anti-bullying
coalition similar to one created in El Paso years earlier. The superintendent
of Ector County schools praised Campa as someone who could relate to the staff,
students and the community. A separate news story quoted Campa saying that the
Ector County job was a “perfect fit” because his aspirations were to become a
chief of police and he was living just a couple of hours from his home city.
But a few weeks later Campa quietly left the Ector County school job to become
police chief in Marshall. Campa’s brief stint at the Ector County school district
was not reported to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE).
Years
ago Judicial Watch provided federal and Texas state authorities with detailed
records documenting Campa’s corrupt acts but no action was ever taken. The
Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, the regulatory state agency that enforces
standards and ethics in corrections and law enforcement personnel, has also
failed to take any action against Campa.
