Judge Drops Charges Against Cheney, Gonzales in Prison Probe

DALLAS - Indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and other high-profile political figures have been dismissed, but Willacy County, Tex., district attorney Juan Guerra said he doesn't regret bringing charges against them in connection with inmate abuse in private prisons.

"My job is to present the evidence of criminal wrongdoing," said the prosecutor, who leaves office at the end of the year. "I'm hoping that the next administration will look into these private prisons because people are dying."

Administrative Judge Manuel Banales on Monday dismissed the charges of organized criminal activity against Cheney, Gonzales, and Texas state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. on the grounds that the indictments, handed down by a grand jury, were invalid.

Five other indictments against two district judges, two special prosecutors, and the district clerk were dismissed because Guerra was the alleged victim, witness, and prosecutor. The five were accused of abusing their power by being involved in a previous investigation of Guerra, who was under indictment for 18 months on charges of misusing county property. Banales dismissed those charges in October, after Guerra had lost reelection as district attorney.

Guerra cited other cases in which a prosecutor had been the victim of a crime. He claimed he could be both witness and prosecutor under procedures that had been validated in those cases.

Cheney's investment in private prisons through an account with the Vanguard Group and his power to influence decisions on payment for prisoners held in private lockups for the Department of Homeland Security made him part of the alleged criminal conspiracy, Guerra alleged. But attorneys for the vice president denied the accusation and sought to have the indictments quashed.

While attorney general, Gonzales allegedly sought to suppress investigations of prisoner abuse in the facilities holding federal prisoners. His attorney also disputed the allegation. Neither Cheney nor Gonzales were required to appear at the hearings.

The investigation was prompted by the beating death of an inmate in one of three Willacy County private prisons. The private prison industry has become the largest employer in the sparsely populated South Texas county.

The prisons were built with $140 million of revenue bonds and operated by private companies. An attorney for the private prison operator, the GEO Group, filed motions accusing Guerra of "prosecutorial vindictiveness."

Lucio was alleged to have used his Senate position to profit as a prison consultant. Banales ruled that the indictment failed to address whether Lucio knew he was only being hired to consult because he was a state senator.

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