MORALES: LET'S GET TOUGH ON DRUGS

Ex-AG Urges Nonpartisan Effort to Fight Money Laundering

SAN ANTONIO - Strengthening state money-laundering laws to attack the
nation's multibillion dollar illegal drug market should be a nonpartisan
effort, former Texas Attorney General Dan Morales said Tuesday.

Mr. Morales, who helped draft the state's money-laundering legislation in
the early 1990s while attorney general, was one of 12 presenters during
daylong testimony before Gov. Rick Perry's Anti-Crime Commission meeting in
San Antonio.

But Mr. Morales declined to revive charges made last year that the
opposition of Tony Sanchez, his Democratic primary gubernatorial rival, to
money-laundering reform had benefited terrorists and drug dealers.

Mr. Sanchez defeated Mr. Morales for the nomination in the spring and is in
a heated campaign against the Republican incumbent, Mr. Perry.

In his presentation, Mr. Morales told commission members that $30 billion of
the nation's $50 billion illegal drug market flows through Texas, corrupting
Texas banks and border communities.

"Texas has a unique role to play in the fight against drugs and drug money
given its position on the border," Mr. Morales said. "There is a clear need
for stronger state laws, similar to the federal statutes. But in the past 10
years, there has been no substantive effort to strengthen state laws."

Mr. Morales declined to elaborate on comments made in February during the
campaign that Mr. Sanchez was "at least partly culpable" in the terrorist
attacks because his bank fought the Clinton administration's attempt to pass
tougher money-laundering laws.

"I have been asked to participate in a policy adviser role, not a partisan
one," Mr. Morales told reporters following his presentation. "They [the
commission] want to keep the work of the commission policy-oriented, not
tainted with politics."

The proximity of the Sept. 11 commemorations also played a role in his
reticence, he said.

"This is a unique week for us. We are a nation in mourning," Mr. Morales
said. "Everyone should suspend partisanship for the next several days. I'll
take that position."

Last year, during a news conference prior to the Democratic primary, Mr.
Morales said bankers, including Mr. Sanchez, who sought to defeat the
legislation two years ago were partially culpable for the Sept. 11 attacks.

Mr. Sanchez, a South Texas businessman, is part-owner of Laredo's
International Bank of Commerce and the now-defunct Tesoro Savings and Loan.

In response during the campaign, Mr. Sanchez called Mr. Morales' remarks
"shameless and hysterical ravings." Mr. Sanchez and numerous banking
organizations cited privacy rights as reasons for opposition to the federal
legislation.