Everything to know about recent Houston and Harris County government scandals
William-Paul Thomas during Prescription Paint at the Knowles-Roland Center at St. John's in Downtown Houston on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013.The bar owner hoped to open a bar/nightclub as a restaurant and offered Thomas more than $13,000 to help him pass the inspections, unsealed court documents show. Thomas contacted a fire official and"pressured other officials" to approve the permit. He was then paid an undisclosed amount of money.
Two current aides and one former staffer to Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo are accused of using their positions to steer a vaccine outreach contract to a politically connected vendor.of misuse of official information and tampering. Law enforcement raided Hidalgo's offices in March. Policy director Willis Nader, chief of staff Alex Triantaphyllis and senior adviser Aaron Dunn face one felony count on each charge. Dunn no longer works for Hidalgo.
Alex Triantaphyllis walks into the 174th District Court before a hearing about bond conditions Monday, July 18, 2022, at the Harris County Criminal Courthouse at 1201 Franklin St. in Houston. He and two other Harris County aides are charged with steering a controversial COVID-19 vaccine contract to firm operated by a politically-connected vendor.
“The way it’s being politicized is getting in the way of getting people vaccinated,” Hidalgo said. “It’s really sad, but it’s the truth of the matter. We need to focus on so many other efforts.”Houston ISD vendor corruption chargesrelated to a bribery scheme that cost the school system millions of dollars.
If convicted, the men could face up to 5 years for conspiracy, up to 10 years for bribing a public official, up to 20 years for wiretapping, up to 20 years for witness tampering and up to 3 years for each tax count. Five accused former employees have accepted plea deals.
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