Peaceful Rally and March for Equal Parenting at Texas State Capitol May 24 - HB 803

Peaceful Rally and March at Texas State Capitol in Support of Equal Parenting HB 803: The Last Frontier of Equality 

Why is this popular and vital bill (Texas House Bill 803) being stalled? Why is the JJFI Committee ignoring the cries for Equality from kids and parents and legislators? 

 

When and Where: 

May 24, 2021 at 10AM at South Side of Texas State Capitol 

 

Why: Equal Parenting is important for kids who are hurting without equal access to both fit and loving parents. Equal Parenting is important for women to achieve true equality, and for fathers who frequently get cut out of the lives of children, and it is important for veterans who fought for their country only to come back from was and not get equal rights. With 22 bi-partisan Co-authors and massive support from most Texans, it is hard to believe that the members of the Texas JJFI Committee stalled the bill and has not allowed it to go the House floor for a vote. There were 150 parents who came to the hearing last month in support of HB 803, and there was very little opposition to this bill which would create equality and greatly help kids and society, which studies show are greatly damaged with unequal parenting. Why are the people being ignored? 

We will have a peaceful rally at the Texas Capitol in support of Parental Equality and the Rights of Kids to see both of their fit and loving parents. Media is welcome and encouraged so that the general public is aware of this important bill and the fight for equality and a better society. 

Was it stalled by the three attorneys on the JJFI committee at the behest of the attorney lobbyists who only want to keep a system that created conflict with parents fighting and hurting their kids as they go to court over and over and try to get more time than the other parent for no reason even though both parents are fit and good (equal parenting does not apply to unfit parents such as domestic abusers or parents who live to far from each other to be workable etc). Why would anyone stand against equality and an equal starting point for kids to see both of their parents which all studies show is vital to their health and wellbeing? Equal Parenting would cut down on conflict in family courts and encourage fit parents to just get along and share their kid for the best interest of their kid. Equal Parenting helps low-income families who cannot afford expensive attorneys and get forced with less time with their kids, or spend all their money trying to beg a judge to give them equal time. Equal Parenting is important for fathers (and mothers) who don't get to be involved in the lives of their kids even though they are fit loving parents, simply because the current unequal family laws separate kids from one or the other parent for no other reason except wanting to hold onto an outdated unequal system of law and the standard possession order that needs changed. 

For more information about equal parenting and this rally, go to http://EqualJusticeTaskForce.com or go to the event page on Facebook for this rally: https://fb.me/e/3GPnOLlit

District Attorney Declares Marcelo Molfino UNFIT to be an Officer – Termination Report Released by Jefferson County DA Bob Wortham

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 5/5/2021:

Document released by the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office show that the heads of all DA departments met with DA Bob Wortham and determined that Investigator Marcelo Molfino was to be terminated for lying, among other violations, and they found him to be unfit to serve as an officer of the court.

This DA Office Memo shows Marcelo Molfino was to be Terminated for Lying, Wage Theft, Violation of Policy, and Being Unfit to Be Officer. This is after a multi-year investigation by David Bellow. Thousands of cases could be called into question after this proof of Molfino's falsifications has been revealed.

The heads of the Departments within the DA’s office then typed up and signed this termination recommendation with a detailed description of their findings. I obtained this signed document through an open records request. I have attached this document to this article.

Marcelo Molfino claims he resigned with no issues, and the local news even claimed Molfino resigned with no issues, but that was just simply another lie by Molfino. As the document attached clearly proves, Molfino resigned after he was already set to be fired based on signed findings of termination by the heads of the District Attorney’s office. To report anything other than that is deceiving the public about a public servant who way lying and stealing and fired for it. Resignation in lieu of termination or a forced resignation is legally considered being fired.

This ends a half-decade saga, and vindicates me, David Bellow. I originally blew the whistle on Marcelo Molfino wage theft several years ago when I discovered that he was fraudulently taking comp time that didn’t seem to be earned, so that he could get paid by the taxpayers while he was doing illegal side jobs during his government day shift. The Texas DPS actually determined that Molfino had violated the law by practicing without a license with his side jobs, but the DA, his boss, refused to prosecute and overlooked the county policy violations such as side work not being cleared with the county so that there is no conflict of interest.

Marcelo Molfino then retaliated against me after I blew the whistle him. While still being investigated by the State, Molfino brought bogus charges against me and he himself even wrote, and falsified, the arrest warrant. It was a massive conflict of interest and a clear retaliation to try to shild himself from the criminal probe I initiated against him.? I fought back and all charges were eventually dismissed. The Texas Rangers then brought an investigation against Molfino and the DA’s office for Perjury and Official Oppression against me. They were going to bring charges and even convened a grand jury against the sitting DA office, but Molfino escaped charges due to the statue of limitations having just run out. Marcelo Molfino didn’t learn though. He went right back to using unearned comp time to steal money from the taxpayers.

Earlier this year, I did an open records request, and that is when I uncovered that Molfino finally slipped up in covering his tracks. He put on his time card that he was taking comp time and he listed the date the comp time was earned as a date that he could not have earned comp time because he was already getting taxpayer emergency pay to stay home and not work on that day. Furthermore, that day he said he earned comp time, he was in another city doing a side job that was not even cleared by the county.

That is theft of taxpayer money. I brought my concern to the District Attorney Open Records officer and requested more information and documents. Next thing you know, Marcelo Molfino resigns unexpectedly. Some did not believe what I was saying because Molfino gets involved in the community so as to appear to be an honest man, so I then did an information request for the records. That is what brings us to this article right now, and the attached county document that shows Marcelo Molfino was set to be terminated for the very same things I had turned him in for several years ago. The disbelief can be laid to rest. The documents show that this man who presented himself as honest was actually using his power and position to steal taxpayer money and retaliate against those who challenged him.

A community has been freed from a corrupt investigator who had intentionally used his power to oppress dozens of people over the years. One black man, Omar Daw, even spent 3 years in jail until the US Attorney released him based on Marcelo Molfino having been involved with an informant planting a gun in the Omar’s car. Molfino would frequently get parents in child custody family court cases to hire him and pay him money, and Molfino would then turn around and bring some criminal charge involving the ex of the person who paid him, which would give a leg up in family courts to the person who Paid Molfino. Molfino even testified under oath to getting paid $1500 cash from my ex-wife, Courtney Hudson. It was a family court, criminal enterprise run by Molfino and nothing short of bribery and public corruption. That is how I first came to know Molfino when my ex-wife, who admitted to being violent with me and leaving our one year old son in cars in parking lots, hired him because she was wanting to keep me from seeing my son even though I was by all accounts an amazing loving and involved father who has never even been accused of not being a good father. Molfino tried to go after me, but I fought back and dug for the truth, and now I am happy to say that I have been vindicated. The false charges Molfino brought against me have long been dismissed, but now I can finally show that what I was saying all along about Molfino was true now that Marcelo Molfino’s own department heads determined he lied and was unfit to be an officer.

This chapter of corruption in Jefferson County is finally coming to a close.

 

Is there a Conflict with Texas Representatives paying for Lobbyists to Kill Equal Parenting Bills?

The Texas Family Law Foundation spent 3/4 million dollars to pay lobbyists Steve and Amy Bresnen to kill Equal Parenting bills in the past 5 years. Is it a conflict of interest for a Representative to be on the JJFI committee that might kill an equal parenting bill, while at the same time paying dues that fund these lobbyists to kill equal parenting bills? 

Investigative Reporter Wayne Dolcefino has just released a video report about the Texas Family Law Foundation and the JJFI Committee. this video raises questions of if there is a conflict that is killing Parental Equality in Texas which is hurting kids and families.

See Video Report here:

https://fb.watch/5fQu6BMbHI/

https://youtu.be/iUQ174oHqec 

Rep. Ana-Marie Ramos and Rep. David Cook and Chairwoman Victoria Neave, please stand with the people of Texas and don't follow the misguided path of the for-profit lobbyists. Show you are not just a legislator in their pocket to kill and Equal Parenting bill that the people overwhelmingly want and that Kids need. Call for a vote on HB 803 and pass it out of committee so it can get a vote on the floor instead of just being killed in committee at the behest of the lobbyists over the desires of the people and 22 bi-partisan co-authors.  

These lobbyists brag about using their influence to delay these bills so they die, even though they would otherwise pass overwhelmingly on the floor, such as HB 803 Equal Parenting Bill. There is no question that the bills the TFLF support or oppose all come down to whether or not the bill will increase or decrease revenue for attorneys. They tried to use dirty tricks this session with a letter saying that equal parenting is only about dads who want to go against women, but these lobbyists were shut down swiftly by a counter letter showing that women are at the Capitol daily advocating for equal parenting because it helps moms too and most importantly it is best for kids and society. Emma Johnson with Moms for Shared Parenting even makes a compelling case that women will not get true equality and close the pay gap until courts have both parents chare in the duties of raising a child instead of just telling a women to stay home and raise the child after a divorce, even though the woman must also work too. The Bresnens knew of these women fighting for Equal Parenting this session, but chose to ignore and silence these women to promote their agenda.

Is it a conflict of interest for a Representative to be on the JJFI committee that might kill an equal parenting bill, while at the same time paying dues that fund these lobbyists to kill equal parenting bills? These lobbyists look out for the income of the attorneys they represent, that is the bottom line, they don't look out for families.

Rep Ana Ramos and Rep David Cook are new reps and they are family attorneys. The website lists them both as members of the TFLF. I fear they might have been fed the standard lies by these lobbyists because they sure did talk the points of the family law foundation lobbyists at the April 26 HB 803 Hearing. Points that have been disproven over and over again and points that go against the will of the majority of Texas who support and want equal parenting and parental equality. There are even 22 bipartisan co-authors of HB 803 and we can't even get a vote on this equal parenting bill? The TFLF are trying to pull the wool over the eyes of these freshmen reps who do not know the history of even last session's equal parenting bill that passed out of committee 7 to 1, and the TFLF arguments were soundly defeated by a woman, and mother, State Representative Gina Calanni.

For instance, Rep Cook used the old TFLF talking point and insisted that you can already get Equal Parenting in Courts, but this is something that has been thoroughly vetted and disproved even in last session's JJFI Committee. Rep. Gina Calanni did a fantastic job of getting the TFLF attorneys to admit it might cost 50k for a good attorney to go to court and try to get equal parenting or even just to get a judge to give expanded standard instead of the standard possession order. Rep. Calanni rightfully stated that the current system is not good for low-income people who cannot afford attorneys and not good for families. Why are we making good fit parents have to fight and bicker in have conflict over who gets more time with kids, instead of just having a starting point of equal parenting for parents who the court deems fit joint managing conservators? Rep. Cook also insisted on the TFLF idea that there already is near equal parenting time in the law, but that has been thoroughly disproven too. Rep. Calanni last session even blasted the TFLF attorneys for insisting there was already near equal time, but then the TFLF attorneys could not even come up with the numbers how much time one parent got over the other in the current system. Fortunately, Rep Calanni did the math and some years it is only 88 overnights in an entire year for one parent with their child with the every other weekend standard possession order where a child doesn't get to see one parent except one weekend every 2 weeks. That is not good for a child. Even worse for Rep Cook, he is opposing the Texas Republican Platform by standing in the way of Equal Parenting.

Rep. Ramos used the old TFLF talking point that it isn't good for kids to go back and forth, even though it has been thoroughly disproven over the years as well. EVERY study and expert over the past couple of decades has shown that equal parenting time is best for children in every measurable metric, regardless of having to go back and forth. This is because it is the separation from one parent that does the greatest harm to children and leads to drastically worse outcomes for children who do not have both parents in their lives equally. The separation from a parent hurts a child, not the going back and forth between 2 loving homes. In fact, with equal parenting schedules you can have even less going back and forth with week to week with one back and forth a week vs. the standard possession order which gives one parent 2 hours every Thursday which is a back and forth all in a one afternoon time span.

Rep Ramos and Rep Cook and Rep Neave, I believe you were elected with good intentions of doing right and representing your constituents and I believe you can rise above the conflict and do the right thing for the people. Don't believe the lies of the TFLF and don't follow the path of being another Rep that these lobbyists swayed to kill a bill that the people want and the kids need. The people are speaking out and they want equal parenting. Only the paid lobbyists or attorneys who profit from conflict are against it. It is profits vs the people. Please take a stand and show you don't just do what the Texas Family Law foundation lobbyists say to do. These lobbyists brag that they have swayed reps in the past to kill equal parenting bills. Please call for a vote on HB 803 and please vote for HB 803. That will show you are not a part of this group of lobbyist's profit agenda, and it will show you stand with the people of Texas and it will show you stand with minorities and low-income families and women and kids, all of whom will benefit from equal parenting, in addition to helping fathers get equal time with kids.