By FLORI MEEKS
Chronicle correspondent
West Houston resident Ruben Monzon has been appointed U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Texas. Monzon, who spent 26 years working for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, was vice president of the Security Advisory Group at Memorial-based Swailes & Co. when he was appointed. He was recommended for the position by U.S. Senators Kay Bailey Hutchinson and Phil Gramm and nominated by President George W. Bush. Monzon began his new role Aug. 5. The Southern District of Texas is one of the largest districts in the country with territory spanning 46 counties and 54,000 square miles. The district headquarters are based in Houston, and the U.S. Marshal's Service operates six manned suboffices throughout the district. Monzon will oversee all of the district's activities. Because a large stretch of the district lies along the Texas-Mexican border, it devotes much of its time to the prevention and investigation of drug trafficking and smuggling. Deputy marshals and their staff also are responsible for federal prisoner custody and transportation and asset seizure. If the federal government seizes an item, the marshal's service holds it until it is sold or disposed of, Monzon said. Additional responsibilities include fugitive investigation, protecting the courts and witness security. "Having worked and functioned in a major federal organization is going to be a major asset to me," Monzon said. Monzon began his law-enforcement career in 1969 as an agent with the DEA. He handled undercover work and money-laundering investigations. Over the years he was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Panama City, Panama, and in Miami before he was named the officer in charge of the DEA's Houston field office in 1983. Between 1985 and 1986 Monzon was a chief inspector in Washington, D.C., where he managed and directed audit programs intended to enhance the efficiency of the DEA's worldwide operations. Monzon returned to Houston in 1990. The newly reorganized DEA had established a field division in Houston, and Monzon was named its officer in charge. After retiring from the DEA in 1995, Monzon shifted to the private sector. Monzon submitted his name for the U.S. Marshal's position about a year ago on the suggestion of some senior law enforcement officials he knew from his DEA days. Now in his new role, Monzon said he expects his biggest challenges to be ensuring there is adequate housing for the marshal services detainees and enough resources for the marahal's offices deputies. The offices have to be at their best at all times, he said. "Since Sept. 11," he said, "we have to be more cognizant of what's going on, more attentive to security needs."