The Texas Ethics Commission has cleared San Ange­lo Police Chief Tim Vasquez of intentional wrongdoing in the sending of fundraising letters on Town & Country corporate letterhead but fined his campaign treasurer, then-T&C chief financial officer Devin Bates, $500.

The commission, in a decision filed Nov. 13, found Bates violated election law by twice sending the let­ters using the Town & Country logo, and by using T&C resources to do so in the months before the May police chief election won by Vasquez.

“There is credible evidence that the respondent ( Bates) made an unlawful political contribution us­ing corporate property,” the commission found, add­ing later, “There is credible evidence that the respon­dent used T&C’s assets to make a political contribu­tion in the form of postage without making a proper reimbursement.”

The letters came to light when a pair of San Angelo residents — political activist Jim Ryan and concert promoter Blaine Martin — filed complaints with the commission in February and March.

Bates signed the commission’s findings, agreeing to pay the fine, but, “ The respondent neither admits nor denies the facts … or the commission’s findings and conclusions of law.”

Indeed, Bates said he disagrees with the commis­sion’s findings, but that it was cheaper and easier to pay the fine than to fight the ruling.

“I just wanted to get this deal behind me and allow Tim to get on doing the great job he’s doing for the city,” Bates said.

Vasquez, who already received a measure of vindi­cation when voters gave him a straight-majority win over five challengers in May, was essentially cleared of intentional wrongdoing by the commission.

“I know Devin very well,” he said. “Devin didn’t do anything inten­tional to make it look like Town & Country endorsed me. I am proud to have him as my treasurer.”

Bates sent two mailings — the first, dated May 22, 2007, consisted of 98 letters, while the second was dated Jan. 29 and consisted of 240 letters — on letterhead that featured the Town & Coun­try logo but an out-of-date title for Bates and an old phone number. He char­acterized the letterhead to the Ethics Commission as “obsolete,” something the company had given him to use as his personal statio­nery.

The commission reject­ed that argument, saying the logo itself has value, and that its trademark had been renewed as recently as December 2007, proving that the company thought so, too, even after being sold that September to Cor­pus Christi-based Susser Holdings Inc., which is in the process of re-branding all the Town & Country stores into Stripes.

The decision closes the case for Ryan and Martin; both men said they felt the ruling is appropriate.

“They didn’t hit him real hard,” Ryan said. “They found a few of his holdings a little dubious. They pretty much found that what Devin was doing he knew he shouldn’t have done.”

Martin, who keeps a house in San Angelo but now lives mainly in Ar­lington, has made no se­cret of his motives, filing the complaint in retalia­tion for what he has said was unfair treatment by the San Angelo Police De­partment toward his San Angelo Picnic, which has since left town.

Ryan, on the other hand, said he voted for Vasquez in 2003 , but that the letters posed a significant prob­lem for him.

“You are a vendor who sells stuff at Town & Coun­try stores,” and they are your No. 1 client, Ryan said. “You get this letter on Town & Country let­terhead. … If you’re a wise and intelligent vendor, you’ll probably write a personal check to the cam­paign. This is just fraught with the possibility of pres­sure. That’s pretty much what the election code was written to prevent.”