Byline: Claudia Grisales
Dec. 21--On May 2, 2001, a crowd had gathered at St. Julia Catholic Church in East Austin. Many dignitaries were there: then-Mayor Kirk Watson, police and business leaders, a visiting member of the Mexican Cabinet.
They were about to announce a bold initiative aimed at stopping a rash of robbery-homicides of Mexican immigrants. The move had national implications, and the media had gathered.
But Rick Burciaga, a key person in the initiative, was hiding, standing behind a group of Mexican laborers who were there to tell their stories.
Burciaga, 55, is regional president of Wells Fargo Bank, which was about to become a pioneer, agreeing ...