Ben Reyes
Encyclopedia
Ben Torres Reyes an American, is a former member of the Texas House of Representatives
and a former Houston City Council
member.
, was born February 16, 1947 in Burton, Texas
. A resident of the Denver Harbor
area of Houston, Reyes, whose father was a laborer, was a member of a family of ten people. He served in the Marine Corps
from 1966 through 1969 for a three year span, and he served one tour of duty in the Vietnam War
. He later became an activist and a politician.
The La Raza Unida asked Reyes to run for political office while as a member of that political party. Reyes instead ran for office as a Democrat. In 1972 Reyes was elected to the Texas House of Representatives. Representing District 89 as a member of the Democratic Party of the United States, he won re-election three times. In 1976 he received over 96% of the vote. While in the house he served as the vice chairman of the Liquor Regulation Committee and as the chairperson of the Rules committee. Reyes served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979. In 1977 he attended both Texas Southern University
and the University of Houston
.
In 1979 he was elected to the Houston City Council
. He served in District I for 16 years; he left due to term limits. As a city council member he arranged the demolitions of various houses that housed criminal activities. His final year of service was 1995. In 1999 Tim Fleck of the Houston Press
said that he "virtually created Hispanic politics in Houston and held his own on City Council as perhaps the best wheeler-dealer for nearly two decades."
In a 1991 Houston Chronicle
article, Richard Murray, a political scientist from the University of Houston
, said "Ben was not only a young Turk
, but he was an angry Turk. But Ben has had a 20-year career and, like many people, he is a different person now than when he was first elected."
In 1992 he ran for United States Congress
in the newly created 29th District
, a 63 percent Hispanic-majority district located in eastern Houston. He was initially the favorite, but only won 34 percent of the vote in the five-way Democratic primary—the real contest in this heavily Democratic district. He was forced into a runoff with State Senator Gene Green
(with whom he had served in the Texas House), which he lost by only 180 votes out of 130,000 cast. He challenged Green in the 1994 primary, losing by a somewhat wider margin.
A Federal Bureau of Investigation
sting revealed issues with Reyes. In May 1991 a grand jury from Harris County
indicted Reyes for felony charges, including illegally accepting corporate campaign contributions (taking $51,000 United States dollar
s to influence votes for a project for a convention center hotel), not using the proper authority while ordering demolition of structures accused of being "crack house
s," and stealing a magnolia
tree.
In October 1995 undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) agents gave Reyes a briefcase with cash in exchange for his engineering of votes so that a city contract would be awarded for a convention center hotel. In 1996 he was placed into custody, accused of committing bribery and conspiracy. He was convicted on December 14, 1998, and he went to federal prison for a nine year term in March 1999. Ben Reyes entered the Federal Bureau of Prisons
(BOP) system. He was originally incarcerated within the Federal Correctional Complex, Beaumont
. He requested a transfer to Federal Correctional Institution, Jesup
and was granted his transfer. Reyes said that FCI Jesup was "a more relaxed, more bucolic facility" than the Beaumont facility was. While in the minimum security Georgia prison, Reyes worked as a janitor. Reyes, along with other inmates, submitted a petition to outgoing President of the United States
Bill Clinton
asking for a pardon. In June 2006 he was released to an East End halfway house. In December 2006 he was released from the halfway house and put on probation. While in the BOP system Reyes had the register number 76205-079. December 29, 2006 was his release date.
A woman Reyes described as a "significant other" picked up Reyes from the halfway house. The probation terms stated that Reyes cannot campaign, run for office, or serve on any boards. He was released from probation in December 2009. Reyes lives in Spring Branch with his wife, Rosalie Brockman; she was his longtime girlfriend before they married in 2008. As of 2009 Reyes works as a construction supervisor.
maintains the Ben T. Reyes Collection at the Houston Metropolitan Research Center. The collection has material spanning from 1970 through 1988. All of the material from the beginning of box one through folder twelve of box eight has material regarding his service in the Texas House of Representatives
. The rest of the collection concerns his Houston City Council
service.
In 1999 Tim Fleck of the Houston Press
ranked Reyes as the "Best and Worst Councilman at the Same Time." Fleck explained that while Reyes had been convicted of corrupt acts, he had also made political contributions to the city. Fleck added that Reyes, who falsely said that he received the Purple Heart
, "had the worst midlife crisis in Houston political history." Fleck said "When Ben was good, he was very good, but when he was bad, he stank out the house."
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
and a former Houston City Council
Houston City Council
The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas.Currently, there are fourteen members, nine elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every two years, in odd-numbered years...
member.
History
Ben T. Reyes, a Mexican AmericanMexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
, was born February 16, 1947 in Burton, Texas
Burton, Texas
Burton is the name of two places in the State of Texas in the United States of America:*Burton, Johnson County, Texas*Burton, Washington County, Texas...
. A resident of the Denver Harbor
Denver Harbor, Houston, Texas
Denver Harbor is a historic community located in eastern Houston, Texas, United States near the Houston Ship Channel. The community, bounded by Wallisville Road, the Houston Belt and Terminal Railroad, the Southern Pacific Railroad, the Port Authority Railroad, was first settled in the 1890s and...
area of Houston, Reyes, whose father was a laborer, was a member of a family of ten people. He served in the Marine Corps
Marine corps
A marine is a member of a force that specializes in expeditionary operations such as amphibious assault and occupation. The marines traditionally have strong links with the country's navy...
from 1966 through 1969 for a three year span, and he served one tour of duty in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. He later became an activist and a politician.
The La Raza Unida asked Reyes to run for political office while as a member of that political party. Reyes instead ran for office as a Democrat. In 1972 Reyes was elected to the Texas House of Representatives. Representing District 89 as a member of the Democratic Party of the United States, he won re-election three times. In 1976 he received over 96% of the vote. While in the house he served as the vice chairman of the Liquor Regulation Committee and as the chairperson of the Rules committee. Reyes served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979. In 1977 he attended both Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University is a historically black university located in Houston, Texas, United States....
and the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
.
In 1979 he was elected to the Houston City Council
Houston City Council
The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas.Currently, there are fourteen members, nine elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every two years, in odd-numbered years...
. He served in District I for 16 years; he left due to term limits. As a city council member he arranged the demolitions of various houses that housed criminal activities. His final year of service was 1995. In 1999 Tim Fleck of the Houston Press
Houston Press
The Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....
said that he "virtually created Hispanic politics in Houston and held his own on City Council as perhaps the best wheeler-dealer for nearly two decades."
In a 1991 Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
article, Richard Murray, a political scientist from the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
, said "Ben was not only a young Turk
Young Turks
The Young Turks , from French: Les Jeunes Turcs) were a coalition of various groups favouring reformation of the administration of the Ottoman Empire. The movement was against the absolute monarchy of the Ottoman Sultan and favoured a re-installation of the short-lived Kanûn-ı Esâsî constitution...
, but he was an angry Turk. But Ben has had a 20-year career and, like many people, he is a different person now than when he was first elected."
In 1992 he ran for United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
in the newly created 29th District
Texas's 29th congressional district
-References:*...
, a 63 percent Hispanic-majority district located in eastern Houston. He was initially the favorite, but only won 34 percent of the vote in the five-way Democratic primary—the real contest in this heavily Democratic district. He was forced into a runoff with State Senator Gene Green
Gene Green
Raymond Eugene "Gene" Green is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
(with whom he had served in the Texas House), which he lost by only 180 votes out of 130,000 cast. He challenged Green in the 1994 primary, losing by a somewhat wider margin.
A Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
sting revealed issues with Reyes. In May 1991 a grand jury from Harris County
Harris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...
indicted Reyes for felony charges, including illegally accepting corporate campaign contributions (taking $51,000 United States dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
s to influence votes for a project for a convention center hotel), not using the proper authority while ordering demolition of structures accused of being "crack house
Crack house
Crack house is a term mainly used in the United States used to describe an old, often abandoned or burnt-out building often in an inner-city neighborhood where drug dealers and drug users buy, sell, produce, and use illegal drugs, including, but not limited to, crack cocaine.In the 1980s, inner...
s," and stealing a magnolia
Magnolia
Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....
tree.
In October 1995 undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI) agents gave Reyes a briefcase with cash in exchange for his engineering of votes so that a city contract would be awarded for a convention center hotel. In 1996 he was placed into custody, accused of committing bribery and conspiracy. He was convicted on December 14, 1998, and he went to federal prison for a nine year term in March 1999. Ben Reyes entered the Federal Bureau of Prisons
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
(BOP) system. He was originally incarcerated within the Federal Correctional Complex, Beaumont
Federal Correctional Complex, Beaumont
Federal Correctional Complex, Beaumont is a large federal prison for men consisting of two different levels of security, including low and medium, in unincorporated Jefferson County, Texas, near Beaumont. The FCC, Beaumont institution is also near United States Penitentiary, Beaumont, a prison for...
. He requested a transfer to Federal Correctional Institution, Jesup
Federal Correctional Institution, Jesup
The Federal Correctional Institution, Jesup is a medium security facility housing male offenders in Jesup, southeast Georgia. The prison, on U.S. Route 301, is northwest of Brunswick, Georgia, southwest of Savannah, Georgia, and miles northwest of Jacksonville, Florida...
and was granted his transfer. Reyes said that FCI Jesup was "a more relaxed, more bucolic facility" than the Beaumont facility was. While in the minimum security Georgia prison, Reyes worked as a janitor. Reyes, along with other inmates, submitted a petition to outgoing President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
asking for a pardon. In June 2006 he was released to an East End halfway house. In December 2006 he was released from the halfway house and put on probation. While in the BOP system Reyes had the register number 76205-079. December 29, 2006 was his release date.
A woman Reyes described as a "significant other" picked up Reyes from the halfway house. The probation terms stated that Reyes cannot campaign, run for office, or serve on any boards. He was released from probation in December 2009. Reyes lives in Spring Branch with his wife, Rosalie Brockman; she was his longtime girlfriend before they married in 2008. As of 2009 Reyes works as a construction supervisor.
Legacy
The Houston Public LibraryHouston Public Library
Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. The library system has its headquarters in the Marston Building in Neartown Houston.-History:It can trace its founding to the Houston Lyceum in 1854...
maintains the Ben T. Reyes Collection at the Houston Metropolitan Research Center. The collection has material spanning from 1970 through 1988. All of the material from the beginning of box one through folder twelve of box eight has material regarding his service in the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
. The rest of the collection concerns his Houston City Council
Houston City Council
The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas.Currently, there are fourteen members, nine elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every two years, in odd-numbered years...
service.
In 1999 Tim Fleck of the Houston Press
Houston Press
The Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....
ranked Reyes as the "Best and Worst Councilman at the Same Time." Fleck explained that while Reyes had been convicted of corrupt acts, he had also made political contributions to the city. Fleck added that Reyes, who falsely said that he received the Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
, "had the worst midlife crisis in Houston political history." Fleck said "When Ben was good, he was very good, but when he was bad, he stank out the house."
See also
- History of the Mexican-Americans in HoustonHistory of the Mexican-Americans in HoustonWhen Houston, Texas was first settled in 1836, some Mexican prisoners of war cleared and drained swampland so the city could be settled. Some parcels of land were given to 100 of the prisoners, who became servants. Throughout most of the 19th centruy most Mexican immigrants traveled to the Rio...