The "Realtor"
GES’s check register shows $37,638 in payments to a law firm. This lawyer also donated $2,500 to Beto Lopez’s mayoral campaign and was listed on the Missouri Ethics filing as a realtor.
A few days ago a commenter made a comment about political connections that made me start digging, and I found a little something.
Not a full fledged article today, just a “fun fact” of sorts.
GES’s FY2026 check register records four payments to FLG, LLC, the law firm of Ricardo Fontg:
- December 19, 2025: $7,520.90
- February 17, 2026: $15,118.00
- March 27, 2026: $7,500.00
- May 22, 2026: $7,500.00
$37,638.90 from a public charter school to a law firm — not unusual itself, everyone needs legal representation.
On February 8, 2026 — nine days before the largest of those payments — Fontg donated $2,500 to Lopez for Lee’s Summit, the mayoral campaign of Beto Lopez.
Lopez is President & CEO of Guadalupe Centers, Inc., which controls GES. The nine-day gap is absolutely coincidence: Fontg was already receiving payments from GES two months before the donation, and the March and May checks that followed were flat $7,500 amounts suggesting routine billing rather than anything tied to the campaign calendar.
Then there is the occupation disclosure. Campaign finance filings with the Missouri Ethics Commission are public record — searchable at mec.mo.gov — and require contributors over $100 to list employer and occupation. Fontg’s line lists his occupation as Self-Employed — Realtor.
His firm is a law firm. His website identifies him as an attorney. Whether the campaign entered that description or Fontg provided it, the one form designed to show who is funding a candidate and in what capacity is the form that calls the school’s lawyer a realtor. Maybe he’s a realtor on the side, or maybe someone made a mistake while doing reporting…
While Missouri has rules on political donations from lawyers (Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct 4-7.6 comes to mind), none would apply on their face here, so there is nothing wrong I’m aware of from Ricardo Fontg’s perspective by making this donation.
Here’s my point: Fontg is paid by public dollars from GES. Lopez controls GES (and GCI). The same man who can fire Fontg received a sizable campaign check from him.
Does that feel wrong to anyone else?
If you have worked at or with the Guadalupe Centers Charter Schools system and want to talk, reach me at DrewHessler@tutamail.com. Confidentiality is taken seriously — no source is named without consent.