Name that party Corpus Christi, Texas

The AP does in the first paragraph.

A major contributor to Democratic causes and political races was indicted Friday on charges of falsely holding himself out as a lawyer and impersonating a public servant.

Mauricio Celis, a Corpus Christi businessman, has a controlling interest in the CGT Law Group of Corpus Christi even though he is not a lawyer.

Now, he's being accused of practicing law without a license. Texas law prohibits anyone from owning a controlling interest in a law firm unless he is a licensed lawyer.

A Nueces County grand jury on Friday indicted him on seven counts of falsely holding himself out as a lawyer, a third-degree felony. Each count stems from separate incidents in which Celis was listed as an attorney, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times reported in its online edition. Celis' business cards, letterhead and his firm's Web site identified him as an attorney licensed in Mexico. One business fax sheet stated he was licensed in Washington, D.C., and California. Celis also signed a settlement document as an attorney. He told Police Chief Bryan Smith he was licensed in Mexico, according to the indictment.

Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott also has sued Celis for allegedly practicing law without a license.

"Practicing law without a license is illegal in the state of Texas," said Jerry Strickland, a spokesman for Abbott. "We will also continue pursuing our civil enforcement action as we seek to prevent Celis or CGT Law Group from violating Texas law."

Celis' attorney, Tony Canales, did not respond to a telephone request from The Associated Press for comment.

Celis also was charged with impersonating a public servant, a third-degree felony, for flashing a Duval County sheriff's badge in an incident near his Corpus Christi home.

In that case, police reported that a naked woman ran from Celis' home to a convenience store, claiming she had been in a hot tub and groped against her will. Celis quickly followed her into the store, wearing a bathrobe. He flashed a sheriff's deputy badge from a nearby county and told police at the store that he would take custody of the woman, police said.

The grand jury also indicted him on an aggravated perjury charge for claiming in a May civil case that he graduated from Universidad Regiomontana in Monterrey, Mexico, with a degree in judicial sciences. The indictment alleges he never graduated from that school.

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Captain Ed adds:

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How important is Celis? In the last three cycles, Celis donated over $110,000 to Democrats. Donations went to John Edwards, Claire McCaskill, Ken and John Salazar, and especially the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the DNC, the latter two of which accounts for almost half of those donations. Hillary Clinton received a maximum donation of $2300 from Celis in March, presumably for her primary fund....

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This is just another example of how Democrats got their early "fund raising advantage" against Republicans this election cycle. What is missing is the outrage that followed Republican embarrassments in the last election cycle. Democrats and the media get much more excited about those.

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