"I consider him a friend, and I don't throw my friends overboard."

Watts stands by besieged pal Celis

Web Posted: 11/10/2007 12:10 AM CST

John MacCormack
Express-News

CORPUS CHRISTI — Last Friday, a day after a grand jury here heard evidence against him on several potential felony charges, Mauricio Celis got a congratulatory phone call from an old friend.

"I wished him happy birthday," said Mikal Watts, a friend and political ally of Celis, and until recently a well-funded U.S. Senate hopeful.

Celis, who owns a law firm here, was celebrating his 36th birthday under legal siege. He's fighting civil and criminal allegations that he impersonated a lawyer and a peace officer, and that he stole from a client.

"I think he felt good," Watts said of Celis. "He's had two hearings against the attorney general and won them both, and a grand jury met for three hours and he was not indicted."

Linked by friendship, shared litigation and Democratic Party affairs, the two men from Corpus Christi have both been in the news lately, for very different reasons.

Celis, who does not have a law license anywhere in the United States, claims to be qualified to practice law in Mexico, but this remains under challenge.
Recent coverage
• AG sues man he says faked being a lawyer (Oct. 25, 2007)
• S.A. lawyer leaves race for Senate, citing family (Oct. 24, 2007)

The Texas attorney general's office is trying to shut down his law firm, charging deceptive trade practices. The next hearing on the matter comes Tuesday in Austin.

"He can practice law in Mexico, he is not practicing law in Texas, and he's not sharing in the fees of the firm," said Steve McConnico, Celis' lawyer.

Celis' troubles have been mounting steadily since another Corpus Christi lawyer began running TV ads in late September denouncing him as a fraud.

Then there was the early-morning episode in September in which Celis — clad only in a bathrobe and flashing a badge — tried to take a nude woman into custody outside a convenience store, according to a police report.

Watts, 40, a successful plaintiff's attorney who now lives in San Antonio, made headlines of his own two weeks ago.

On Oct. 23, with the Celis soap opera going full bore, Watts abruptly withdrew from his Senate race after raising and spending nearly $1.6 million.

His explanation that he quit to spend more time with his three children met with sarcastic disbelief by political commentators and insiders. Many speculated that Watts dropped his five-month campaign because of potential embarrassments posed by his friend.

"The general assumption in political circles is that it had to do with the Celis stuff. His family was there the whole time," said Ross Ramsey, editor of Texas Weekly, a political newsletter. "The interesting thing is how far everyone else has jumped away from Celis since these allegations came out. It makes you wonder what's so poisonous about him."

Had Watts met Republican incumbent John Cornyn in the general election, Celis could have been used to bludgeon him, said one Democratic political consultant in Austin who asked not to be named.

"I think Cornyn would have tried to play on the fears of white rural independent Texans. He'd say: 'Here's a guy in bed with a crooked South Texas politician,' which is code for 'Mexican American,'" the consultant said. "And if Celis gets arrested, you run his mug shot while saying, 'Here's Watts' best friend.'"

But Watts' former campaign manager said Celis wasn't the issue.

"Watts isn't afraid of a fight or bad press. We could have dealt with Mauricio. That wasn't the reason we dropped out of a U.S. Senate race. It was all about family," said Christian Archer, who also managed San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger's campaign.

In South Texas, where Celis cultivated a reputation as a political player and rainmaker, the coincidence of his troubles and Watts' withdrawal has fueled the rumor mill.

Among the more interesting items: Watts was said to be the godfather of Celis' eldest son Mikal Celis; Watts and Celis were said to own bars together; and Celis' wealth was said to have come from referring hundreds of cases to Watts for litigation.

Celis didn't return a call this week seeking comment. Watts, in an interview, said he had considered withdrawing more than a month earlier and released a copy of a draft of a letter dated Sept. 20.

The letter cited family issues and is virtually identical to the one Watts issued Oct. 23 when he left the race.

"I've never had more fun in my life. It was like being in trial every day. It was intoxicating," Watts said of the campaign, but he said he was not seeing enough of his children.

"I started to recognize in late August that I had a real problem at home," he said. "You only get to raise your kids once. I didn't want to give that up."

Besides, he said, he's hardly finished as a statewide candidate.

"I'm a young man. I'm 40 years old. There will be a Senate seat up in 2017, the year my youngest graduates from high school," he said.

Watts said he was surprised to learn Celis has a young son named Mikal and expressed astonishment at being mistaken for the child's godfather, saying: "I'm not even Catholic."

He acknowledged that he, Celis and others once were owners of the Havana Club, a bar in Corpus Christi, but said he sold his share years ago.

And, he said, case referrals received from Celis over the years have been few, representing "less than a drop in the ocean" of the thousands of cases his firm has accepted.

"I doubt I had a dozen cases involving Mauricio," Watts said.

Since Celis founded CGT Law Group International in late 2005, the firm has referred only two cases to him, Watts said.

"He's bright. He's generous with his money. He's a good businessman. He's knows politics, and he's very comfortable in Washington, D.C. He's also very well connected inside the Catholic Church," Watts said.

For Celis, the next rounds of struggle come next week when a Nueces County grand jury is expected to resume hearing evidence against him on several possible charges.

Also next week, a court hearing will be held in Austin over a bid by Attorney General Gregg Abbott to shut down Celis' firm over allegations he has been passing himself off as a lawyer.

"I don't know what the poor guy is going through in terms of legal issues. It's important not to judge," Watts said. "I consider him a friend, and I don't throw my friends overboard."

jmaccormack@express-news.net