Meanwhile in Houston: Feverish Tongue-Wagging About Imminent Corruption Charges

Democratic leaders in Texas face possible felony corruption charges

DEC 13, 2021 | REPUBLISHED BY LIT: DEC 14, 2021

HOUSTON (TND) — The mayor of Houston and a judge in Harris County are both fighting similar but separate allegations they were involved with awarding millions in government contracts to friends and/or political allies.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo have been surrounded by controversy and scrutiny after allegedly engaging in corruption using their official powers.

Turner was accused of corruption when he allegedly looked to award a $15 million housing contract to a firm led by his former law partner.

Former Houston Housing and Community Development Director Tom McCasland publicly accused Turner in late September of maneuvering the city’s competitive process for affordable housing money to a specific developer,” reports the Houston Chronicle. “A company listed as ‘co-developer’ on the deal, Harbor Venture Group, is run by Turner’s longtime former law partner, Barry Barnes.”

Turner reportedly denied the allegations of corruption and also claimed he wasn’t aware of Barnes’ involvement at the time. Also, Turner fired his accusor, McCasland, on the same day the allegations were made. Three weeks later, Turner canceled the deal with Harbor Venture Group, according to Houston Chronicle’s reporting.

A defense lawyer and adjunct professor at the University of Houston School of Law, Carmen Roe, said in an interview with Fox News that, while no subpoenas are filed for Turner yet, they “are likely to be forthcoming”.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo faces similar allegations after a vendor was awarded an $11 million vaccine outreach contract.

The $11 million contract was awarded to Elevate Strategies, a small Houston firm led by a woman with political ties to some court members,” reports KTRK News. “It was designed to reach unvaccinated people in Harris County to convince them to get vaccinated. After controversy erupted about how the deal was awarded and to whom, the deal was canceled.

Before the contract ended, KTRK reports, Elevate Strategies was still paid thousands of dollars by the county. A report from Texas Monthly says the company received $500,000.

Elevate Strategies is headed by Felicity Pereyra, who Fox News reports is a “Democratic political insider with ties to the county commissioners court” who also worked on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. “Pereyra’s company was a one-woman operation until recently and only had existed for two years before being awarded the contract,” reports Fox News.

“Both experts in the industry and county officials tell FOX 26, Elevate Strategies lacks the bare minimum of resources needed for a project of this scope and couldn’t possibly have met the strict bidding requirements mandated by the County, including five years of annual billings and a qualifying financial balance sheet with audited income statements,” reports KRIV News.

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg’s office has reportedly subpoenaed Hidalgo concerning the contract according to reporting from Texas Monthly.

The subpoenas do not specify what criminal laws might have been broken in the awarding of the vaccine outreach contract, but law enforcement sources, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, told Texas Monthly that several statutes might apply: official oppression, a Class A misdemeanor; abuse of official capacity, a first-degree felony if more than $300,000 in public funds is involved; and misuse of official information, a third-degree felony. The county paid Elevate Strategies more than $500,000 before the contract was terminated,” reports Texas Monthly.

In the same interview with Fox News, Roe commented on Hidalgo’s possible corruption case saying no one can guess what a grand jury is going to do as there’s “a lot” of information not known yet, but Roe did say Hildago’s actions are “very suspicious, highly irregular and could lead to criminal charges.”

“Both cases, at a value of greater than $300,000, are first-degree felonies,” said Roe about Hidalgo and Turner. “Which means they carry a possible punishment range of a minimum of five years in prison up to life in prison.”

A city councilman in Houston tells Fox News he thinks the power both Hidalgo and Turner wield has corrupted them and encouraged them to push an agenda.

“They have really stretched out their power to do everything they can to maximize their agenda,” Houston City Councilman Michael Kubosh said to Fox News. “I think it’s a twisted agenda.”