Six accused of organized crime in $15 million case
Submitted by jcht2010 on
Six men have been indicted on charges of Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity after they failed to pay millions of dollars they owed to farmers all over the south and east Texas.
Frederich R. Schauer III and his brothers, Kenneth Doyle Schauer and Robert Michael Schauer, along with Ganado businessmen Norbert Benard Popp, David Carl Bram, and Thomas Ted Treybig, are accused of conspiring to steal grain from farmers to the tune of $15 million dollars.
The six operated as Bee Agricultural, a grain brokerage based in Beeville. Prosecutors claim that the company wrote invalid checks or otherwise failed to pay for grain that they then sold and profited from.
Popp, Bram, Treybig, and Robert Schauer have all been released on bond, and Frederich Schauer and Kenneth Schauer are expected to post bond shortly, following a hearing Thursday, Oct. 15 which reduced their bond substantially while adding several conditions.
Attorneys for Frederich Schauer and Kenneth Shauer said their bonds, set at $2 million and $1 million respectively, violated the Texas Constitution, citing a Jefferson County case (594 S.w.2d) brought before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1980, in which it was found that bail amounts must be set so that “it is reasonable to assume the defendant will show up for court, but power to make bail is not to be used as an instrument of oppression” according to Cynthia Orr, an attorney for Frederich Schauer.
They claimed that bonds, which they stated were set at amounts the defendants could not conceivably afford, defied this ruling, and denied them a right guaranteed by Section 11 of the Constitution of Texas, which states, “All prisoners should be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital offenses, when the proof is evident; but this provision shall not be so construed as to prevent bail after indictment found upon examination of the evidence, in such manner as may be prescribed by law.”
District Judge Eli Garza lowered Frederich Schauer’s bond to $75,000, and Kenneth Schauer’s bond to $50,000, adding conditions that neither man contact any victim listed in this case in any way or engage in any contracts in the agricultural field. He also ruled that both men be required to wear ankle monitors at their own expense, and surrender their passports if they have them. Kenneth Schauer agreed, and Frederich Schauer’s attorneys stated that he does not possess a passport.
No trial date was set, as both defense attorneys and the prosecution stated that this is a paperwork-heavy case and will take time to prepare.
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