Category Archives: Scandalized!

DeLay argues his case before the appeals court panel

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s an old, familiar argument. Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay should not go to prison on money-laundering charges because the 2002 campaign transaction involved a $190,000 check and not cash, his lawyer argued before the Third Court of … Continue reading →

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More DeLay trial news

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Some other action on the Tom DeLay front this week. The Tom DeLay legal marathon inched forward Wednesday on two separate fronts. John Colyandro, a DeLay co-defendant who has been under investigation since 2003, found out his trial won’t start … Continue reading →

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Henson removed from DeLay appeals case

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Score one for Team DeLay. Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has won a tactical victory with the removal of Justice Diane Henson, a Democrat, from his appeal. A motion to remove Henson was granted late Friday without comment … Continue reading →

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Former DeLay aide Ellis pleads guilty

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This was out of the blue. Tom DeLay’s chief political aide, Jim Ellis, pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge of making an illegal campaign contribution during the 2002 election. Ellis, who headed DeLay’s Americans for a Republican Majority political … Continue reading →

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CD34 candidate Villalobos busted by the feds

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is not the sort of news one wants to make as a candidate. Cameron County District Attorney Armando R. Villalobos vowed Monday to fight a federal indictment filed against him and his former law partner Eduardo “Eddie” Lucio. Villalobos, … Continue reading →

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Will the last judge on the Third Court of Appeals please issue a ruling on Tom DeLay?

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The way this is going, we may have to start importing judges from other states. Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s appeal has taken an unexpected turn as three Republican justices removed themselves from his money laundering case in … Continue reading →

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Rep. Reynolds busted for barratry

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, for crying out loud. State Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, was arrested Tuesday evening [for barratry, the unlawful solicitation of clients by lawyers] and posted $5,000 bail shortly after midnight. A former associate municipal judge for the City of … Continue reading →

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Berrymania

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This Michael Berry thing. WTF? A police source familiar with the investigation into a hit-and-run accident linked to former city councilman and radio talk show host Michael Berry said Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland is upset with the handling of … Continue reading →

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Eversole gets off easy

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And so it ends. The receiving line of well-wishers and smiling faces that came to life in the usually somber federal courtroom Wednesday was 10 years in the making. Jerry Eversole, who fell from one of the highest perches in … Continue reading →

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Eversole and Surface whine for leniency

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Stop, you’re breaking my heart. Even after former Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole and real estate developer Michael Surface agreed to plea deals, their lawyers said prosecutors were trying to “criminalize” a 30-year friendship. In letters filed Wednesday to the … Continue reading →

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Double dippin’

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

How do you know when you’re on really shaky ground when trying to justify what appears to anyone with a lick of common sense to be a craven and shameful maneuver in one’s own naked self-interest? Gov. Rick Perry has … Continue reading →

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Driver’s plea

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So long, Joe. A humbled Rep. Joe Driver, the Garland Republican who illegally pocketed state travel money, pleaded guilty to felony abuse-of-office charges Tuesday and agreed to five years’ probation. As part of his plea agreement, Driver will get five … Continue reading →

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“Checks aren’t cash” back before 3rd Court of Appeals

Posted on November 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Sometimes when you least expect it, Tom DeLay pops up in the news. It would defy common sense to reverse the three-year prison sentence of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay because his money-laundering case involved a check instead … Continue reading →

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Surface gets probation

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Mike Surface, one of the developers implicated in the Jerry Eversole case and who pleaded guilty alongside Eversole to one count of filing a false income tax return, was given two years probation for his crime. Prosecutors asked for a … Continue reading →

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Driver to take a plea

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Whoa. State Rep. Joe Driver, who candidly acknowledged pocketing taxpayer reimbursements for travel paid by his campaign, will enter a guilty plea on abuse-of-office charges, a third-degree felony, a top prosecutor said Tuesday night. “He is going to plea to … Continue reading →

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Eversole pleads out

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Another saga comes to an end. Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole pleaded guilty this morning in federal court to a felony charge of making a false statement to FBI agents. The charge carries up to five years in prison and … Continue reading →

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Evaluating Eversole

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As we prepare to say good-bye and good riddance to Jerry Eversole, the Chron takes a look at what he has achieved in office and what his legacy might be. After more than 20 years as a Harris County commissioner, … Continue reading →

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FBI investigation of HCC

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Any time the FBI comes to town to investigate possible corruption in your business, it’s not a good thing. The FBI is investigating possible corruption at Houston Community College, an inquiry that appears to involve its former chief financial officer … Continue reading →

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DeLay files appeal of his conviction

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The man has been a boon for the defense bar, I’ll say that much for him. Tom DeLay’s appellate lawyer tapped a movie musical and Shakespeare in a wide-ranging appeal that argues the former U.S. House majority leader was wrongly … Continue reading →

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Poor Jerry

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I feel so, so sorry for him. Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole has racked up $1.1 million in legal bills fighting a federal corruption probe in the past two years, nearly exhausting his campaign funds months before his case is … Continue reading →

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Eversole and Surface to be tried together

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There will be only one more trial relating to the Jerry Eversole case. We think, anyway. Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole and developer Michael Surface, two longtime friends who exchanged more than $100,000 in trips and gifts, will be tried … Continue reading →

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Trying Eversole, take 2

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The two sides in County Commissioner Jerry Eversole’s trial are planning for the sequel. The biggest help to each side, seasoned trial lawyers said, are the jurors who sat through three weeks of testimony. “I relied a lot on input … Continue reading →

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Hung jury for Eversole

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the one outcome guaranteed to ensure that nobody is happy. Federal prosecutors plan to retry their corruption case against Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole after a judge today declared a hung jury in the three-week trial on charges that … Continue reading →

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New judge in DeLay associates’ case

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Meet the new judge, fourth in a series: The co-defendants of Tom DeLay, who was convicted last fall of conspiring to launder corporate money into political donations, will be tried before state District Judge David Crain, according to a court … Continue reading →

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Eversole rests his case without presenting one

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

You have to admire the guts, if nothing else. In a move even his attorneys acknowledged was risky, Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole’s defense team rested Wednesday without calling a single witness after prosecutors ended more than two weeks of … Continue reading →

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More on Judge Priest recusing himself

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We now have a reason for Judge Pat Priest recusing himself in the upcoming trial of DeLay associates Jim Ellis and John Colyandro. Senior District Judge Pat Priest , who sentenced DeLay to three years in prison for laundering corporate … Continue reading →

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Judge Priest recuses himself in DeLay associates’ trial

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Didn’t see this coming. Two associates of former U.S House Majority leader Tom DeLay will get a new judge. State District Judge Pat Priest of San Antonio, who oversaw the month-long trial of DeLay last fall, surprisingly recused himself this … Continue reading →

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Jury selection begins in Eversole trial

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Get your popcorn popper fired up. Jury selection begins this morning in the trial of Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole, who stands accused of accepting bribes from a friend and developer to whom he allegedly steered county contracts and appointments. … Continue reading →

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DeLay wants a do over

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck with that. Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s legal team on Wednesday filed a motion asking for a retrial for the former congressman, convicted last November on charges of money laundering and conspiracy. The motion, filed by … Continue reading →

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Eversole’s trial set for February 22

Posted on January 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Indicted County Commissioner Jerry Eversole got his wish for a speedy trial. Eversole’s jury trial is scheduled for Feb. 22. Thursday’s ruling by U.S. District Judge David Hittner is mixed news for the Eversole camp. Eversole’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, said … Continue reading →

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The Hammer goes to the slammer

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. Judge Pat Priest sentenced Tom DeLay to three years in prison. The three-year sentence was on the charge of conspiring to launder corporate money into political donations during the 2002 elections. On the charge of money laundering, DeLay was … Continue reading →

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Rats of a feather

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

My schadenfreude-o-meter goes to 11. As convicted felon Tom DeLay prepares to find out Monday whether he will go to jail or get probation, his lawyer complained Friday that Travis County prosecutors offered immunity for testimony from two former DeLay … Continue reading →

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Trying Eversole

Posted on December 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron wonders if the freshly-indicted Jerry Eversole can beat the rap. That will depend on whether federal prosecutors can convince a jury that the gifts Surface gave Eversole and the actions the commissioner took that benefited Surface constitute conspiracy … Continue reading →

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Eversole indicted

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This has been so long in coming I was beginning to wonder if it would ever arrive. Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Eversole pleaded not guilty to federal bribery and income tax charges today. Eversole is charged with accepting … Continue reading →

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