By Melissa Jewett, Publisher
Paul Gullo, of Naples New York, was arrested in Kyle on April 3 for “deceptive business practice for making a materially false or misleading statement otherwise in connection with the purchase or sale of property or services.”
After Gullo was processed, Hays County District Attorney Wes Mau requested the court recuse Mau and the DA’s office.
The request states, “In prior recusals involving Judge Becerra and Alex Villalobos, the appointed Hays County Criminal District Attorney Pro Tem is the Texas Attorney General, who has designated members of his Criminal Prosecutions Divisions White Collar Crime and Public Integrity Section to handle those cases.”
During the Hays County Commissioners August 11 Budget Workshop, Commissioner Walt Smith noted several concerns regarding MDBox, its parent company Reliant Immune Diagnostics and MRG Medical and their relationship with Hays County.
Kyle Hayungs of MRG Medical addressed Smith’s concerns while providing commissioners with a budget presentation.
Among the concerns noted by Smith was an individual who was arrested in April in the City of Kyle after offering free COVID-19 antibody testing kits to employees of Hampton Inn while wearing an MDBox baseball cap.
Gullo allegedly entered the hotel around midnight and requested a room in exchange for testing hotel employees for COVID.
According to the arrest report, witnesses reported Gullo had offered employees free testing in exchange for lodging for the night; he later told officers he was acting on behalf of a governmental agency with the permission of the Hays County Judge and his Chief of Staff.
The report states Gullo would not disclose his employer’s name but said he was there to provide testing to Hays County first responders.
In his possession was a brown grocery bag containing approximately 20 COVID-19 testing kits; the kits were in a clear plastic bag with a printed paper ‘instructions sheet,’ an alcohol prep pad, a plastic tube, a lancing device, and a test strip.
According to the search warrant affidavit, Gullo told Kyle PD that he had dinner with Hays County Chief of Staff Alex Villalobos the night before and had received authorization for his work.
Kyle PD contacted Villalobos, who also serves as a Kyle City Council member, and is a candidate for Hays County Sheriff, to confirm his story.
The report says Villalobos stated he had no knowledge of the alleged program or what the suspect was doing.
The report also states the arresting officer asked if the Gullo needed a license to pull blood and test them. He said, “no, judge Ruben Becerra provided an emergency order authorizing him to do so.”
According to the affidavit, Gullo showed officers photos on his phone of documents from the “Office of Ruben Becerra, Hays County Judge,” which stated the “immediate allowance of an FDA exemption and emergency use authorization,” for Reliant Immune Diagnostics as well as other documents.
When asked if he’d purchased the testing kits, Gullo told officers he had not. At that point, he told the officers they no longer had permission to view his phone.
According to the police report, the officer believed the phone contained evidence about the offense of deceptive business practices and requested and was granted a search warrant for a “Forensic Analysis of Cell Phone” for Gullo’s cell phone.
Gullo was released from Hays County Jail on April 13 on a PR bond of $5,000.
During the budget workshop, Hayungs stated that he had heard of the incident and that Gullo was not an MRG Medical or Reliant Immune Diagnostics employee.
Hayungs said he believed testing kits had been stolen from the office, and the theft was being investigated.
On April 14, Hays County Criminal District Attorney, Wes Mau, filed a motion for recusal for himself and his office in Gullo’s case and “any others that may arise” from the April 3 arrest.
In the motion, Mau noted that Gullo claimed he was working with Becerra, who is currently Hays County Judge, and Villalobos, the County Judge’s chief of staff, and a Kyle city council member and a candidate for Hays County Sheriff in the November Election.
The request states, “In prior recusals involving Judge Becerra and Alex Villalobos, the appointed Hays County Criminal District Attorney Pro Tem is the Texas Attorney General, who has designated members of his Criminal Prosecutions Divisions White Collar Crime and Public Integrity Section to handle those cases.”
According to Mau’s motion, “The prosecution of Mr. Gullo’s will necessarily involve decisions relating to potential prosecutions for which the HCDA has been recused.”
Judge Zelhart granted Mau’s motion to recuse on April 14.
Hays County court-appointed Brian I. Baker, as Gullo’s defense attorney. However, Baker also filed a motion to withdraw in April as Gullo’s defense attorney for “conflict of interest.”
Hays County Judge Updegrove approved Baker’s recusal request on April 20, stating “the Court FINDS good cause for withdrawal.”
During the August 11 Commissioner’s meeting, Judge Becerra stated he did not know anyone by the name of Paul Gullo.
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There goes the new era with Becerra. It's back to buisness as usual, steal all you can from County Government.
It's the second time both these men have been accused of plotting to benefit financially from sales of medical supplies to the County.
Becerra should resign and Villalobos terminated. Shameful for the first Hispanic Judge of Hays County to be involved in such a scheme. Where does the Democratic Party stand in all this mess, they nominated him. Will they help remove this horrible stain of dishonor from their midst. I doubt it
Able,
I believe that every commissioner currently on the court should officially request for his resignation...It puts it on the record. If they do not, it makes them complicit in this situation. We both know just because they make an official request doesn't mean Becerra will resign. But what it does do, is make it official that as a commissioner on the court, you aren't going to stand for such actions and lies coming from the court. Your constitutes will respect you for doing it, and the haters will continue to hate. IMHO
Becerra and global warming have a lot in common, in that they both
require unconditional acceptance or else facts start getting in the way
Back here in Rochester, NY, Mr. Gullo has numerous arrests, for things like impersonating a police officer. He's a grifter. He has some serious issues. Google his name and you will see the issues he has left in his wake.
Paul Gullo is a well known New York Con Artist who operates all over the nation. It is shocking they let him out on bond.
Just search "Paul Gullo Fake Cop"
Paul Gullo has a rap sheet a mile long, but he always walks because he knows how to drop the right names in local government to get away with his scams. He will walk away from this as he has several times in the past, and go on to pull more clever schemes until someone dies. Then we'll all ask "how could this happen?" when the answer was there in the public records all along.
I have a Google alert set for Paul Gullo news. Dude is a straight up con -man, a compulsive liar, and no doubt his need to at least present the image of having some official capacity is driven by whatever deep-seated mental issues he has. He has slimed his way through New York state and local politics for decades. He has perfected the art of name dropping, weaseling his way into jobs where he steals or makes fake credentials, and likes to talk to important people so he can sell that conversation as some sort of "official capacity" to political rubes. The fact that the New York republicans keep getting taken in by this guy just shows their incompetence. I just consider anyone who would have anything to do with him, just as corrupt as he is.
His greatest hits include:
Impersonating an EMT during Hurricane Katrina.
Impersonating a police officer in order to solicit donations for a fallen officer.
Presenting himself as a police officer on several different occasions.
Getting a job at a police supply store in order to order badges from multiple agencies for himself.
Forging petition signatures causing the candidate he was working for to have to drop out of the race.
On a trip to Israel as a congressman's campaign manager, photographed in military uniform pointing a weapon into Palestine.
Multiple times claiming veteran status on social media, even though he never actually served in the military.
Claiming to be a member of the Trump transition Team.
Claiming to be a Trump White House Staffer.
And my personal favorite, while working as a Resident Advisor in a Dorm, using his building keys to creep into the rooms of girls who came back drunk, and take pictures of them.
And all of this was directly witnessed by people, posted to social media, in court documents, or news stories. Somewhere in all of this is a book or movie. I mean, just look at the sheer amount of B.S this guy was able to pull off.