Pecos Enterprise
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Pecos EnterpriseJust Musin' - By Alton HughesIndependent reported indictment(Fifth in a series of 12) On Monday, April 23, 1962, the Pecos Independent said the Reeves County Grand Jury, which apparently began investigating the affairs of Billie Sol Estes last week, is scheduled to convene again Wednesday. Several Estes employees were seen outside the grand jury room Friday, apparently waiting to testify before them. Because grand jury proceedings are secret, it is not known what phase, if any, of the Estes affairs the panel is investigating. No indictments have been released." Then on Thursday, April 26, the Independent headline read "Reeves County Grand Jury Indicts Estes on Eight Felony Theft Charges." This was the first local action against Estes. A Federal Grand Jury in El Paso had previously returned indictments on eight counts of "allegedly transporting fraudulent chattel mortgages in interstate commerce." At the time of the Reeves county action, according to the Independent, a Federal grand jury in Dallas was reportedly investigating charges that Estes gave expensive gifts to Federal farm officials. The Daily News, on the same day, made the same announcement concerning the Reeves County indictments. The News also announced that a contempt of court charge had been filed Wednesday against Walter Heller Co. and Judge J.H. Starley had set the date of hearing for May 1 at 11 A.M. Cause for filing the contempt case was that it was alleged that Heller employees had removed notes from their files after they had been temporarily impounded by the court. The News also announced that C.I.T. had filed 28 civil suits of $22 million for collection of chattel mortgages against Pecos and other West Texas farmers. This suit was expected to be the forerunner of other civil suits filed by about a dozen financially prominent mortgage firms. The News said "if companies can't get their money from Estes, they hope to get it from the farmers, or possibly get payments from both." Coleman McSpadden, of Lubbock, announced a plan to repay his creditors within a period of about ten years. A story was carried in the Daily News of April 29 to the effect that C.H. Mosley declared that he alone, and not Agriculture Department officials in Washington, made decisions concerning grain storage by Billie Sol Estes. He also said that no favoritism had been shown Estes and the government had suffered no loss, and is threatened with none, on the entire grain operation. The Independent's issue of May 3 carried a story on many new angles resurrected in the Estes case. Among new developments was a suit filed by a Van Horn man against Estes, Billie Sol Estes Enterprises, The Farmers Co., Superior Manufacturing Company, Lubbock Machine and Supply, Associated Investment Co., Caprock Investment Co., General Leasing of Ft. Wayne, Walter E. Heller and Co., Ruel Alexander, Thomas A. Rogers, Pioneer Finance Company and C.I.T. Corporation. The suit, in the amount of $308,350.40, charged that the defendants had procured this anount of chattel mortgages by misrepresentation and fraud. The plaintiff asked that the mortages and notes be cancelled. Another new angle involved a press conference called by Bill Mattox to clear the air as to his part in transferring cotton allotments to Estes, which he showed to be legal and according to the A.S.C. procedure. Mattox had received some criticism from the press, accusing him of aiding Estes. Mattox said he had been exposed to the Estes tank buying proposition but turned it down. The Independent announced on May 7, 1962 that Judge R.E. Thomason had set a creditors meeting at El Paso for May 23, at which times all Estes creditors were to file their claims and nominate a trustee. Notices were sent out to 564 persons. On May 9, 1962 the Amarillo Globe-Times came out with a front page story concerning the filing of a $5.5 million suit by certain finance companies against the Superior Manufacturing Co. of Amarillo. In addition to this suit, the Walter E. Heller Co. filed individual suits against a large number of Pecos, Hereford, Clifton, Dell City, Sierra Blanca, Bangs and Fabens people. The Globe-Times also carried a story indicating the possible connection of two former Republican officials in the Department of Agriculture with the Estes fertilizer operations. These two had left the Agriculture Department, and had served on the Board of Directors of the Commercial Solvents Corporation of New York. Their activities involved the allegation that Commercial Solvents sold Estes fertilizer that was in turn sold at a b99 to- farmers agreeing to store their grain in Estes' elevators. Probe of Estes continued in Pecos (Sixth in a series of 12) Probe of Estes continued in Pecos (Sixth in a series of 12)
Independent intimated that a govermnent secretary,
Receiver reported mortgaged tanks(Seventh in a series of 12) On May 28, 1962 the Independent announced that the Farmers Co., according to the company manager, was under the control of Commercial Solvents. The Odessa American had said the day before that Federal Judge R.E. Thomason has given Harry Moore permission to negotiate a contract with Commercial Solvents. A representative of the fertilizer company said that five railroad tank cars of anhydrous ammonia were enroute to Pecos to be sold at the going rate. Part of the eight dollar per ton profit was to be paid to Moore for operating expenses. Harry Moore, Estes' receiver, announced May 31, 1962 that of the theoretical 33,500 tanks that had been mortgaged, between 1,600 and 2,000 could be located or accounted for. Moore also said he was pleased that Commercial Solvents had executed a contract to control the Farmers Co. The Independent carried a story in their June 7th issue saying that Dr. John Paul Dunn, co-owner of the Independent, confirmed that he submitted documentary evidence pertaining to the Estes case to the FBI in March of 1961. He acknowledged that he "prepared and submitted cocumentary evidence in the Billie Sol Estes case to the Executive branch of the Federal government more than a year ago and subsequently to the Legislative branch in Washington and to the Texas State authorities." A staff attorney leaked the information to the press and the story came out in the New York Tribune and this started the ball rolling. Directors and stock- holders of the Independent denied any knowledge of collaboration on the Estes case between Dr. Dunn and Oscar Griffin who followed Don Kretsinger as editor of the paper. In a letter to the Amarillo Globe-Times, Oscar Griffin, according to the Independent story, said "It must be understood many people, and friends of the Independent, assisted in arriving at the conclusions drawn by us prior to publication of these tank articles. These people, because of their position or desires, cannot be named." The Independent said that the decision to publish the "expose" rested solely with the Directors. It was announced on June 7 that Estes' stock in the Pecos Printing Co., publishers of the Pecos Daily News, would be sold to the highest bidder at the office of the Daily News at 10:00 a.m., Monday, June 11. Before calling the auction, Moore had received one bid of $9,200. The meeting to auction the sale of Billie Sol Estes' 921/2 shares of stock in the Pecos Printing Company was convened at the stated meeting on June 11, but no auction occurred. In a surprise move, Barney Hubbs and Joe Pounds, former publishers of the Enterprise, issued a signed statement to those in attendance that they were in complete control of 315 shares of stock in the company then held in escrow at the First National Bank. Because of this surprise move, no prosepective bidders would submit bids. Moore asked for a show of hands of those who might submit bids, and they included J. Robert Scott and Jim Pattee, Alan Propp of the Independent, Dorrance Roderick of the El Paso Times, F.O. Maston of Sudan and Buck Miller, a local rancher. The auction was then re-set for 4: p.m. that afternoon. The Independent, in that day's publication, announced that they would not submit a bid in view of the "interference and complicated maneuver." The bids were received at 4:00 P.M., June 11, 1962, by Estes' receiver, Harry Moore. The bid by a group of about 20 Pecos Business men was the high bid. The other two bidders were Dorance Roderick of the El Paso Times, and F.O. Matson of Sudan. The Pecos Independent and Buck Miller did not submit a bid. On June 12th Judge R.E. Thomason confirmed the sale of the Pecos Printing Company, publishers of the Pecos Daily News, to the group of Pecos business men. Harry Moore had approved the sale prior to its confirmation by Judge Thomason. A spokesman for the group said that the paper would be continued as a clean publication. The June 19th issue of the News carried a news release from Frankston, Texas, stating that the grand jury investigating the death of Henry Marshall had returned a verdict of "death by suicide," but would re-convene if new evidence came to light that might alter the decision. John Cofer of Austin and John Dennison of Pecos made a last ditch effort on June l9th to keep the Estes empire from going into bankruptcy. The two Estes lawyers met with M.R. Irion, lawyer for Estes' creditors, in Dallas in a closed session. None of them indicate what move they had in mind to accomplish this feat. The Dallas News carried a story saying that the Reeves County ASC had fired Bill Mattox from the committee, allegedly for assisting Estes in getting eminent domain cotton allottments. The Independent of June 21 said that Rufus Atkinson, Reeves County ASC manager, and his superior, A.J. Weimer, had been suspended by ASC officials for accepting a $50 gift certificate from Estes in 1960. They were given the right to appeal. Also on June 21, 1962 both Pecos papers told of efforts of Estes' lawyers to get Judge Thomason to dismiss the Federal grand jury probing the Estes case. They alleged that bias and prejudice had been engendered by newspapers, magazines and television. John Cofer, one of Estes' lawyers, attacked President John Kennedy and brother Robert Kennedy for expressing opinions of the guilt of Estes. Judge Thomason denied the motion and the grand jury proceeded with their deliberations. LIFE magazine, dated June 1, 1962, carried two full stories on the Estes case. The first, titled "A Scandal Hot as a Pistol," was concerned largely with the political implication of the case. The second, titled "The Bumpkin Who Turned into a Warped Lizard," was largely a personal essay on Billie Sol. It was full of sarcasm and personal belittlements of Estes, as well as being highly inaccurate on many points. Estes was referred to as "the leading citizen of Pecos," which was not true. He was at that time the most publicized citizen of Pecos but could not be classed as "the" leading citizen. Use of name brought lawsuit threat(Eighth in a series of 12) One June 22, 1962, one of the owners of the Pecos Independent gave written notice to Buck Jackson, Rodeo announcer, that if Jackson used his name during the rodeo he would be sued, along with the Rodeo Association. Mayor Cecil Cothrun countered with a letter advising Jackson that if he did not use Cothrun's name he would be sued for violation of public relations. The News of June 22 said that over 600 farmers, angy over the suspension of Rufus Atkinson, presented a petition to President Kennedy asking for Atkinson's re-instatement. Estes was constantly giving things to people, one of the gifts being a ham to Atkinson which brought about his suspension. Also in the June 22 issue of the News, it was announced that the El Paso Federal grand jury had indicted Estes, Ruel Alexander, Harold Orr and Coleman McSpadden on 29 counts, alleging mail frauds. Attorney General Will Wilson held another hearing in Pecos on Saturday, June 23, bringing with him dozens of newsmen, TY and radio reporters, apparently looking more for publicity than information. The hearmg went in a sort of carnival atmosphere, with Wilson in the limelight. A number of Pecos people were called to testify but none of them offered any worthwhile evidence. The hearing closed with nothing accomplished. In a surprise move, Estes' attorneys John Dennison, John Cofer and Hume Cofer, requested that Estes' trial be started Monday, June 26, 1962; a request promptly granted by Judge Starley. The News article of Tuesday, June 26, said that when the surprise Estes move came on Saturday, there were only two or three out-of-town newsmen in Pecos. The Independent story on Wednesday said that by Tuesday morning newsmen from all the big Texas dailies, and at least two of the Eastern papers, the New York Times and the New York Herald-Tribune, were in Pecos. Also there were cameramen from a number of national TV stations, along with reporters and photographers from both Associated Press and United Press International. Most of these news people, including representatives from the Wall Street Journal, the Nashville Tennessean, the Washington Daily News and the Washington Star, had been in Pecos the previous weekend for the Wilson hearing. They had barely got home before they came right back. In the words of one Pecosite "it was a complete madhouse!" The June 27 News reported that Estes' attorney asked for a continuance of the trial on the grounds that all jurors had read biased and prejudiced news and Estes could not get a fair trial. Cofer said that they had no place to go where this situation did not prevail and the trial should be continued until the situation changed. Judge Starley postponed his decision overnight.
PHOTOS: Billie Sol Estes is furloughed from Big Spring federal prison camp in 1983 for publisher's release of a book about him, written by daughter Pam from more than 20 years' notes and collected information. (9.6KB) Billie Sol Estes, in checkered coat, is interviewed at the Big Spring federal prison camp in late October, 1983, shortly before his parole. He began a 15-year sentence in 1965 after conviction for federal mail fraud and conspiracy. Creditors claimed Estes owed them $38 million. (AP Laserphoto, 26.6 KB) Leaving federal prison in Big Spring in mid-November, 1983, Billie Sol Estes kisses his wife, Patsy. (AP laserphoto, 22.4KB) Former con-man and wheeler-dealer, Billie Sol Estes, whose circle of friends once included Lyndon Johnson, sits in a Brady,Tex. restaurant Sept. 3, 1997. After two federal prison stints, Estes has quietly settled into Brady on the fringe of the Texas Hill Country. (AP Photo by Ron Heflin, 18KB).
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Pecos Enterprise
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