Free help with document shredding, medicine disposal

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- You may have some things around your house that you need to get rid of, but you need to make sure they're disposed of properly, and don't end up in the wrong hands.

Bank statements, old tax documents, maybe receipts you've been meaning to throw away -- what do you have lying around with personal information on it? The city of Houston wants to help you get rid of all those sensitive documents safely. You can do this for free.

Any sensitive documents containing personal information such as your Social Security number, your birthday, employer information, bills and even pre-approved credit card applications shouldn't be just thrown in the trash. The mayor's office is spearheading this initiative, with the help of Data Shredding Services of Texas, to keep your important and personal information out of the hands of criminals.

Nelson Espitia with the city of Houston explained, "People go through the trash. I understand there was a story recently about people .... getting a hold of people's money orders and making copies. The next thing you know, your Social Security number is being used for something you didn't even know of."

You can take your documents Saturday morning to the Houston police Westside Substation on Dairy Ashford for shredding. The service is free and will be available from 10am to 2pm. There will be additional document shredding events throughout the summer, at HPD stations around the city.

On the same day, the DEA will help take any unused or expired prescription drugs off your hands. National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will take place on Saturday, April 28 from 10am to 2pm This is a great opportunity for those who missed the previous events, or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of those medications.

The service is free, anonymous and open to all. All tablets, capsules and solid dosage forms will be collected.

Six HPD locations will participate: Kingwood - 3915 Rustic Woods Drive - Kingwood 77339Northeast - 8301 Ley Road - Houston 77028South Central - 2202 Saint Emanuel - Houston 77003Westside - 3203 South Dairy Ashford Road - Houston 77082Southeast - 8300 Mykawa Road - Houston 77048Clear Lake - 2855 Bay Area Boulevard - Houston 77058

For more locations, check the DEA website.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Hidden cameras document apparent misuse of deputies in Precinct 1

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A Precinct 1 commander says deputies lived in fear of a veteran Houston constable. Now, hidden cameras document the apparent misuse of deputies by the now former Constable Jack Abercia.

Jack Abercia denies he lined his pockets, misused his deputies, and that's why we often do surveillance, so we can see how your money is being spent.

You can appreciate why Jack Abercia isn't happy. He'd just been indicted on bribery and conspiracy charges.

"Pitiful, pitiful," Pct. 1 Sgt. Rita Britt said.

"Does he deserve this, do you think?" we asked her.

"Yes sir," she said.

And Rita Britt should know.

"I've been there 29 years," Britt said.

She runs a team of deputies at Precinct 1 who bring juveniles to justice, and now she's retiring -- and speaking out.

"Whatever the boss asked them to do something, or told them to do something -- told them to rather than ask them -- they felt like they had to do it," Britt said.

The 13-count federal indictment accuses the constable of enlisting deputies to perform personal errands on county time.

"We have deputies taking materials to your bay house. Is that an appropriate use of deputies?" we asked Abercia.

"That ain't true. That's ain't true on county time," he said.

Even on a morning off, this deputy is picking up vinyl siding at a place in The Heights, not for his own house; he'll drive it down to the constable's bay house in La Marque.

"To me, it would be very demeaning because, like I say, you don't have a choice in it," Britt said.

Another deputy does work at the constable's million-dollar house off Memorial, and he's on duty. Our hidden camera can prove that wasn't much of a secret at Precinct 1.

"I'm telling you, that's his own can of worms," ex-Pct. 1 Chief Michael Butler says on hidden camera.

Rita Britt says one of her investigators could disappear for weeks at a time, the perks of being one of Jack Abercia's cabana boys.

"Those guys would be untouchable and there's nothing you can do about it, so it was frustrating," Britt said.

Now, a top commander admits what life was like under the Abercia regime.

"There was intimidation going on?" we asked Harris County Pct. 1 Chief Deputy J.C. Mosier.

"Of course," he said.

"And there was fear?" we asked.

"Oh you can see it," he said.

Here is a sergeant and a lieutenant teaming up to pick up bread from a shop on Washington, and we mean lots of bread. The sergeant takes a detour to pick up building supplies; then they meet up again at a funeral home. A uniformed deputy joins them; three lawmen picking up cases of water -- one after another, after another. The sergeant will take the morning provisions down to the bay house for the constable. And there's Abercia, sitting on the back porch. It's 10:30 in the morning, a work day for most of us.

"So they were all being paid? All those people were being paid?" we asked Abercia.

"I got canceled checks. I got canceled checks," he said.

"OK, can we have them?" we asked.

"No," he said.

Canceled checks the constable now refuses to show us, and at Precinct 1, deputies can't work an extra job without written permission and there are no records of any work for the Abercias.

Even back in October, they were worried 13 Undercover was coming, and they even knew what the constable would say and joked about the way he'd say it.

"I told y'all, I told y'all, I told y'all to be off the g****** clock," Butler says on hidden camera.

Of course Chief Butler is now accused of taking bribes too, a widening scandal of Harris County constables and the way they are allowed to treat their county employees.

"Quit taking advantage of your position, be fair, be fair to your employees, be fair to the public; quit putting yourself up on a pedestal," Britt said.

Check out the videos and confrontations you'll only see on 13 Undercover Interactive, including some of the exclusive hidden camera video we took during this investigation. And stay tuned Thursday night, because Precinct 1 was worried we'd find another of their secrets, and of course, we did.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more 13 Undercover »

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