A South Texas narcotics task force commander alleged he was fired to silence his complaints that Kleberg County Attorney Kira Talip was misusing public funds and having an alleged sexual relationship with another employee.

Thomas Roddy, the former commander of the South Texas Specialized Crimes and Narcotics Task Force, has sued Talip in federal court, alleging that he spoke out repeatedly about her alleged misuse of his task force's property seizure fund. Talip was granting donation requests, typically between $500 to $5,000, to various Kingsville entities that were not eligible to receive public funds and had not submitted applications or explanations of how they would use the money, Roddy claimed.

Roddy's attorney, Corpus Christi solo practitioner Jon Brooks, said the task force's property seizure fund is robust, but he's unsure at this point in his investigation how much money Talip allegedly misused.

"A lot of drugs move along Highway 77," Brooks said about a highway that connects Kleberg County's county seat, Kingsville, to a smaller town, Riviera. "You'd find there's a lot of traffic stops that result in seizures of cash, significant amounts of cash, and that's where the money comes from."

The task force posted photos of a recent bust:

Talip didn't return a call or email seeking comment before deadline. But her attorney, Brian Miller, partner in Royston Rayzor in Corpus Christi, wrote in an email that Roddy's allegations are not true and the suit lacks merit. Miller said he believes the suit lacks sufficient evidence, and he planned to move for dismissal.

Located along the Texas Gulf Coast south of Corpus Christi, Kleberg County had an estimated population of 31,100 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Roddy especially objected to a $16,000 donation that Talip granted to King Ranch Security so it could purchase police radios for its security units, according to the Dec. 3 original complaint in Roddy v. Kleberg County Attorney Kira Talip, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Corpus Christi. Roddy told Talip that it appeared she granted those funds as a political favor, which was an illegal use of property seizure funds.

"Talip later admitted to the plaintiff that she wanted to give the donation because the King Ranch was a powerful, political ally for her to have in Kingsville," alleged the complaint.

According to the Handbook of Texas Online, King Ranch formed in the 1850s with a stock of Texas Longhorn cattle. By the 1950s, there were 650 producing oil and gas wells there. Today, the ranch spans a massive 1,300 square miles—that's larger than Rhode Island—across six Texas counties, including Kleberg County. It's grown into one of the largest privately held corporations in the United States, said the Handbook of Texas.

Roddy's lawsuit alleged that he talked to Talip about his concern that a lack of documentation of the donation requests would make it impossible for the public to scrutinize the use of public funds. After his complaints, Talip started hiding information from him about the donations. But another task force employee complained to him that she was "giving money away at an alarming rate."

Sexual relationships

Meanwhile, Roddy had launched an investigation about alleged improper sexual relationships in the workforce. The wife of a task force agent told Roddy that her husband was having an improper relationship with a female task force employee. She wanted that woman fired. Otherwise, she said she would make public allegations that Talip herself was in an improper relationship with a senior special agent. The wife demanded that the senior special agent face discipline or discharge, too.

According to the complaint, Roddy opposed how much time Talip spent with that senior special agent, believing it was sexually oriented. They had "inappropriate sexual-in-nature conversations" in front of other staff, said the complaint.

During his investigation, Roddy informed Talip of the wife's threat to make the public allegation about her relationship with the senior special agent. Talip then discharged the female task force employee whom the wife had alleged was in a relationship with her husband. But the senior special agent faced no disciplinary action, the complaint said.

"The plaintiff was later discharged by the defendants, at least in part, to silence and quash further investigation by the plaintiff of sexual harassment allegations or hostile work environment allegations based on improper sexual relationships in the workplace," alleged the complaint.

But Miller, Talip's attorney, said that in a resignation letter, Roddy didn't mention misuse of forfeiture funds or any allegedly improper relationship involving Talip.

"The Commissioner's Court unanimously and lawfully approved the purchase of radios for the commissioned officers working at the King Ranch so that those officers could communicate effectively with other law-enforcement officers in the county," he said. "No improper relationship occurred, and Roddy's resignation letter distanced himself from the investigation of an administrative assistant's conduct that allegedly yielded the accusation."

Read the complaint: