The Gregg Wendorf Podcast: Recent Episodes
Gregg B. Wendorf
Gregg B. Wendorf, working journalist (anjournal.com) and true-crime book writer (Murder for the Love of Money), does a regular podcast touching on a variety of topics.
How visiting Judge Manuel Bañales overturned a local Texas election, and why that makes little sense. Plus, the judge is carrying some political baggage of his own (questionable decisions), if one wants to look over his 23 years as a state District Court Judge. Add to that, the plaintiff's lead attorney, Gilberto Hinojosa, is the Democrat State Chair for Texas. Granted, the Edinburg municipal election is non-partisan. Still, doesn't it look odd for a state chair to get involved in a local election as the plaintiff's attorney?
It used to be that book banning was usually led by a group on the fringe who took issue with some parts of a book, including a masterpiece like "Huckleberry Finnn" because it contained the N-word, which still exists today in most hip-hop songs. Go figure.
After reading just the first chapter of a book on the list of books that needs to be banned, I see why this book made the list.
Gay sex between a student and a coach in the locker room is referenced before you even get to the second page. It's downhill from there.
For a short time, until the Irene Garza book is written, with its intended publishing date of late November 2023, this podcast will be put on hold. Trying to write a book takes enough time, which means there is very little time left to record a daily podcast. Catch you in early December 2023 after the book is up for sale at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
More testimony today from the former TV reporter who was called to the Hidalgo County DA's office to hear that the state had the murderer in hand, but the murderer, a warped Catholic priest, was going to get off scott free, no charge of murder, as long as he copped to a misdemeanor case involving another assault on a local young woman.
Imagine a day when the DA could call all the local media together -- between eight and 10 reporters -- and tell them that he was going to reveal who the murderer was? Then he did, and nothing happened. The priest got away.
In this True-Crime Podcast, the lead defense attorney for the former Catholic priest accused of murder, John Feit, makes the case as to why the accused is innocent of murder.
It's 1960, Hidalgo County is far different than the metropolis it has become in so many ways. Question is, how did it get so corrupt that it could knowingly let a murderer walk free?
In 1960, a Catholic priest in McAllen, Texas, John Feit, took time away from the confessional to abduct and later rape and murder a beautiful 25-year-old teacher, Irene Garza, who had gone to church the night before Easter to confess her sins and attend Mass. She was never seen alive again. This episode begins our story.
The book begins. Day one of a new true-crime book related to the 1960 murder of McAllen teacher, former beauty queen Irene Garza and the 2017 conviction of her killer, former Priest John Feit.
This latest federal judicial ruling in Texas gives the porn industry a big win. Under-aged teens can now access free porn unmolested.
If only we could look at the world through the eyes of a young child, what a wonderful world it would be.
The Republican candidates are in favor of sending U.S. Special Forces into Mexico to combat the drug cartels? Good luck with that.
This guy is making an estimated $40,000 per day singing two songs that really do suck. Not only are they sub-par, but they mock overweight people. Only in present-day America.
What is it about Hidalgo County Texas that can turn a multi-million-dollar new county courthouse into a giant snafu with no end in sight as to when it will actually be open?
When a county is deciding whether or not to cut its funding of the local animal shelter, shouldn't the shelter be kept in the loop?
News broke recently that Mission CISD is paying its superintendent based on a 10-year contract, when the state says five years is the max. What' up with that?
Thus begins a read through a long-tenured public school superintendent who had other things on his mind besides school performance.
Allegations of impropriety at McAllen ISD during an election cycle. Good or bad, depends on who your candidate is.
If there really is a sexual problem at McAllen ISD, employees using bad judgment with camera in hand, then how to clean up things? SexStoppers may be the answer.
If the sexual improprieties in my previous podcasts are indeed all true, then why is there this problem at Central Office?
In the previous podcast, dated Feb. 11, mention was made of a computer used by McAllen ISD Superintendent J.A. Gonzalez on which was reportedly found multiple digital recordings of homemade sexual encounters between one employee and multiple partners. What was not made clear, however, was that the computer in question did not belong to the superintendent, nor had it been used by him previously. Rather, it belonged to another person associated with the ISD.
Question is, is McAllen ISD encouraging employees to report sexual improprieties on school grounds involving colleagues, or discouraging it?
Question is, should I buy a motorcycle, and why does simple head congestion worry me more than it used to?
Will PSJA ISD settle with its superintendent tonight after he lost his board cover last election? Will the city of San Juan dismiss its police chief? Why is DPS Director Steve McCraw asking for more than $1 billion after his department's failure at Uvalde?
The Texas DPS sends out a press release warning bad drivers and drunk drivers to be careful over Thanksgiving. Of course, they won't read it. Meanwhile, why does the Texas DPS director still have a job after Uvalde? On top of that, why I don't like cold weather.
If this lawsuit against IDEA filed by its former CEO, JoAnn Gama, proves to be true, it's just one more example why a legal contract can't be broken without serious consequences.
On a daily basis, there is more news that just goes to show that we are living some very crazy times. The craziest I've seen in my lifetime.
With any hope, this is the start of what promises to be a daily podcast by yours truly, Gregg Wendorf, newspaper writer, book writer, spinner of tall tales, and podcaster.
Am amazing trial for those who followed it -- the recent not-guilty verdict handed to former Edinburg Mayor Richard Molina in the voter-fraud case. Most people following it thought the state had him cold -- he did it. Then the defendant himself took the stand.
PSJA ISD says in its court filings that one of its top-flight principals was going to be moved to Central Office for the good of the district. Say what?
The soap opera at PSJA ISD continues, making news headlines that would presumably make parents sit up and take notice when choosing where to send their child to attend school.
A week ago, the PSJA superintendent and board majority decided to move one of the district's most successful, well-liked high school principals to central office, allegedly to make room for one of their own who can bring votes to November's school board election. True or not, the move sure seems politically motivated.
Once one views the leaked Uvalde school-massacre shooting, it's easy to see why the local DA wanted to keep the hallway camera footage away from the eyes of the parents and public at large. What it shows, sad to say, is cowardice among the ranks of law enforcement seldom seen on camera. This includes the Texas DPS. Rumor on the Austin streets today is that the Texas governor is going to fire the head of DPS, Steve McCraw today (July 14). Of course, so many rumors go unfounded so much of the time. Time will tell.
There is a good reason that the Texas DPS doesn't want to release the Uvalde mass-shooting body cam video, but it has nothing to do with facilitating future similar crimes.
Gun Control. There is none of real value on the horizon, and yet Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tx) gets booed at a state GOP conference. For what? For doing nothing? Crazy people.
If one looks at Abbott's new border-security policy, which includes creating chaos at the ports of entry, not to mention the loss of fruits, vegetables, higher prices, and less revenue, one has to ask the question: Has anyone checked on the governor's mental condition of late? Seriously. What he's doing makes no sense.
So why was Ukraine refused entry into NATO, and who is now making money off of the war? It's a sad time for the poor Ukrainians, now caught in a bloodbath that the West, the U.S., the EU, and NATO could have prevented if the whole lot wasn't comprised of spineless cowards. Another big question: with any war, someone always makes money, so who's making money off of this debacle?
When a long-time superintendent retires from a district, why, two years later, is the district trying to wipe his name from memory? Is this not the sign of someone being petty? For what reason?
In the Hidalgo County DA's race 2022, both campaigns -- Terry Palacios and Nereida Lopez-Singleterry -- are running ads attacking the other for perceived slights or outright lies, or worse, getting a criminal informant killed. While the latter has been addressed (no proof that Palacios is guilty of the leak), the so-called slams against Singleterry haven't yet been addressed since no reporter has asked her the right questions, or she won't agree to an interview. If the political attacks against her are indeed without merit, then give The Advance an opportunity to set the record straight. So far, though, based on public records, she did what her opponents claim.
When anonymous people go on social media and launch a political attack against someone, without including their name to what gets posted, is that not the sign of a coward?
I already made a podcast, now I have to write a description? It's worth a listen. Said in few words. LOL.
Finally I'm back to doing podcasts. It's something I enjoy, but it's easy to get off-track and not do them on a regular basis. Hopefully, I can remedy my podcast procrastination moving forward. Why is laziness such an easy act to follow?
A public entity funded in part with tax dollars doesn't want to grant the press access to its financials.
Excuse the audio, but this interview was done via cell phone, which isn't always the optimal way to record sound for a podcast. In this particular podcast, however, Mr. Villegas discusses the state of PSJA ISD and what he thinks about the way it's currently being run -- not well.
Aaron Rodgers not only lied, he was deceitful in the way he went about it, putting other players' health at risk. Now he's quoting Martin Luther King. Dude has no shame. A pox on the rest of his playing career.
The podcast we did last week about the Oct. 18th PSJA ISD board meeting during which Board President Jorge Zambrano said that "Doctor" should be removed when acknowledging Trustee Cynthia Gutierrez during board meetings has sure seemed to back fire if you follow social media. Granted, social media isn't always reliable, but why would any elected official open up him or herself to the backlash that's now been created?
During the PSJA ISD board meeting Monday night (Oct. 18), Board President Jorge Zambrano said that placing "Dr." in front of the name of his fellow trustee and former slate mate, Cynthia Gutierrez, is "misleading." She says call her what you want, but he can't take away from her the medical diploma she earned, which gives her the right to place Dr. in front of her name.
In 2004, John Henry Ramirez and two women robbed Pablo Castro, looking for some drug money. Ramirez then stabbed Castro 29 times with a six-inch blade. The trio got away with $1.25. Ramirez was set to be executed last month (September 2021), but at the last minute, he got a stay. For what? It has to do with religion.
This first episode gives a brief overview of a man whose only defense was he was high on crack when he killed his wife and kids. The drugs did it. This podcast also offers an overview of the state's death row system. Does it make sense? It also includes a mistake: fifteen people weren't executed in Texas in 2020. Three were. During Rick Perry's tenure as governor, 2001-2014, 279 prisoners were put to death.
Gregg B. Wendorf, true-crime book writer (Murder for the Love of Money) and working journalist (anjournal.com), does a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Podcast focusing on the 203 inmates currently on Texas's deadly death row. Only, in all actuality, it's more of a holding chamber of sorts.
I have to switch the focus of my podcast to something else. I can only report about COVID-19 stories for only so long because the whole thing has just turned out so damn depressing.
If you look at all of the vaccination myths, you have to wonder, why do so many people believe this stuff?
In the end, the mother of four was responsible for her own actions, but who convinced her that the COVID-19 vaccines are something to be avoided?
How much damage did the swollen-testicle tweet coming from rapper Nicki Minaj do with regard to scaring more people into not getting the COVID vaccine?
Despite the fact that COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are now 300 percent higher than last Labor Day, Americans, too many of them, still refuse to take this pandemic seriously. What? Me Worry? Apparently, that's how too many feel. Biden might as well giving his COVID speech today.
Crazy thing about so many anti-vaxxers is that they remain anti-vax even after a lengthy hospital stay due to a COVID infection. How to explain that sort of stupid?
Let's put some anti-parasite cow drug in our bodies while we discount the COVID vaccine.
The flat-earthers, as I call them, showed up at a recent school board meeting last week to tell board trustees that they are basically crazy to enforce any facemask mandate. One was a physicians assistant working hard to sound like an MD.
Adios, COVID Crazy Podcast. At first, this podcast was fun to record, but I've gotten so sick of stupid people. I no longer find them fun to laugh at simply because too many people are getting sick.
You just can't make up this stuff. Texas' lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, is blaming black people for the COVID surge in Texas. No joke.
For the time being, Texas students are safe. School districts can mandate face masks thanks to a technicality. Meanwhile, on the "Redneck Riviera," party-goers are having a ball, while hospitals just up the road fill up with un-vaxxed COVID patients.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tx) met with more than 500 Republicans up in north Texas Aug. 18 where the audience sat sans facemasks while the Delta variant is surging around them. Smart people? Uh, no
Texas Governor Greg "I give the orders around here" Abbott attended a large Republican gathering full of unmasked Republicans and then tests positive for COVID-19. Yet, he still won't back down on his dictatorial orders that disallow school districts from implementing mask mandates.
Texas is getting crazier by the day. On one hand, the governor is requesting temporary mortuary trailers in anticipation of more COVID deaths; yet he still won't let local jurisdictions invoke their right to require facemasks be worn, which includes school districts. You can't make up this kind of crazy.
Every day, we see crazy COVID-related stories break out across the country. This latest one took place over the weekend in LA. Insanity grows worse by the day.
News came out Sunday night that the Texas Supreme Court has sided with Governor Greg Abbott, blocking mask mandates. With school just around the corner, what this means is more sick teachers, school staff, and more importantly, our most vulnerable population, our kids.
The world was crazy enough before COVID-19 reared its ugly head. Now, with crazy people added together with a crazy pandemic, the world is just that much worse. Daily COVID crazy news coupled with an occasional true-crime episode.
The school board voted to limit the number of lawsuits moving forward, for now, but still, there are a lot of vendors asking questions.