Vocal FBISD Bond Critics Hit In Bank Scam
Vocal FBISD Bond Critics Hit In Bank Scam They Say Was Meant To Send A Message
by Bob Dunn, Nov 01, 2007, 02 20 PM
Kevin Tunstall and Noel Pinnock both live in Missouri City, both ran unsuccessfully for public office in the last election, and both have been vocal opponents of Fort Bend Independent School District’s proposed $428 million bond referendum.
Now, Tunstall and Pinnock have something else in common. Within the past week, they say, someone in Austin found a way to make fraudulent withdrawals from both men’s bank accounts.
The two say they are certain the action was taken by political opponents, although they acknowledge they have no hard evidence.
Pinnock, a Houston ISD program manager who ran for Fort Bend ISD school board, said records from his Wells Fargo account show someone, apparently using a “replica” of his debit card and his personal pin number, withdrew $203.45 from his account on Oct. 26; $203.95 on Oct. 27, and $201.45 on Oct. 28.
Tunstall, majority owner of Stafford’s HealthXpress LLC and chairman of the county Libertarian Party who ran for Missouri City Council, said records from his Amegy Bank account show someone used what appeared to be his debit card and pin number to make two withdrawals of $203.95 on Oct. 26, and two more withdrawals of $203.95 on Oct. 29.
Pinnock and Tunstall say the withdrawals were made from ATM machines in Austin, while the two men were hundreds of miles away in the Fort Bend County area.
Pinnock said he was sitting in a Houston restaurant Friday night “and I had my (debit) card in my pocket when they were in Austin using my bank card and my pin code.”
“It was obviously done to send me a message to back off” from his outspoken opposition to the Fort Bend ISD bond issue, Tunstall said Thursday. “But you know what? All it has done is galvenized my resolve.”
However, he added, “my wife is scared. She’s really sick of this. She really does want to pack up and leave.”
“I think that we’ve got a corporate fraud or scandal on our hands,” Pinnock said. “I know it has everything to do with my political stance. I’m just afraid it happens to too many peope and they back down. And that’s not going to happen with me.”
Pinnock said the unauthorized bank withdrawals will be investigated, adding, “we’re going to take it to the highest levels that we possibly can. I think it’s blatant terrorism on a citizen, when you mess with people’s money.”
Ironically, Pinnock believes money is the motivation for the bank fraud incident, in the form of the millions of dollars that school district vendors stand to make if the bond passes – or not make if it fails.
Last week, FortBendNow published a letter to the editor from Pinnock in which Pinnock touted a new web site created by a group calling itself FBISD WatchDogs, which has come out against the Fort Bend ISD bond issue.
Tunstall has stated his opposition to the bond issue numerous times in editorial comments appearing with bond-related news articles in FortBendNow.
Both men said they believe political opponents are behind the bank thefts, but neither would publicly identify those opponents they may suspect.
“It’s definitely bond-related, and our opposition to the bonds and the fact that we spoke out against the corporate welfare that exists,” Tunstall said. “If identity theft happens to one political candidate and outspoken critic, it’s a coincidence. If it happens to two of them, it’s a conspiracy.”
“These guys are all in bed together,” he added. “Who knows where this will end up? I’m waiting for the dead animals to start showing up in my yard.”
