Showing posts with label Attorney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Attorney. Show all posts

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Harris Co. Attorney to testify before grand jury investigating possible wrongdoing inside Victor Trevino's office

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- There's a surprise in that criminal probe of Victor Trevino's constables office.

Through our sources, 13 Undercover has learned the grand jury has now subpoenaed the testimony of another high-ranking public official. It's Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan. He's been told to appear Friday morning under oath. What we don't know is what the grand jury wants to ask the guy elected to be the county's ethics watchdog.

Just last week, 13 Undercover had tough questions for the County Attorney Vince Ryan.

"Is the end game protecting Victor Trevino?" we asked Ryan.

"Of course not," he said.

Now sources tell us the grand jury probing the constable has questions for Mr. Ryan too.

"The bottom line is you ran for public office as the ethics watchdog for this county," we told Ryan.

"I think the ethics are being much more cautiously observed by county officials," he said.

But we've been fighting for months for the voters' right to know.

Documents we have show Ryan's office had about reports of mismanagement and possible criminal wrongdoing in Precinct 6 months before the May primary. There was even a final internal investigative report done by this county lawyer for Vince Ryan. But the watchdog won't make it public. Trust me, we've tried to get it.

"You issue your Doug Ray document in its entirety and let the public see everything Vince Ryan knew before the election, that he didn't think the voters had a right to see," we told Ryan.

"I think that would be inappropriate," Ryan said.

"Really?" we said.

"Yes it would."

"You could do it tomorrow," we said.

Emails from Ryan's office acknowledge at least some of the revelations could be "the source of high embarrassment" and "black eyes for the justice system."

Ryan says he has a right to keep what he learned a secret because he's the county's lawyer, even from the county judge. Trevino was re-elected in May. Now it's Ryan who faces voters in November.

"He covered up wrongdoing that he was aware of and chose to look the other way. Instead of being the watchdog that he should be, he's a lapdog," said Robert Talton, Ryan's opponent in the November election.

We don't know from our sources if Ryan has been told to bring the report he won't show you to show them. The county attorney says his office has done a lot to clean up the constables' operations; he has given some records to the DA but not the final report of his investigation.

Just last week it was Constable Trevino on the hot seat.

"Do you expect for there to be an indictment?" we asked attorney Chip Lewis.

"I don't think the grand jury will see anything on the lines of Constable Trevino personally enriching himself, but as they are still working through the process, we are not going to to comment on the issues before them," Lewis said.

We also know from the courthouse that a grand jury subpoena for a sitting county attorney is very rare. We will be watching the developments for you Friday morning.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more 13 Undercover »


13 undercover, wayne dolcefino

View the original article here

Thursday, May 10, 2012

More pressure mounts on Harris County attorney

See it on TV? Check here.   HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The pressure on Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan is growing to show the public the full details of his investigation of county constables.

The report, released Monday, is barely five pages long. It contains legal advice, but doesn't say who may have broken the law. Now the county judge says he wants to see what the watchdog won't let you see.

"To come out with just a simple, five-page report that says if you have any questions call me, I would like to see more," Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said.

One of Ryan's potential political opponents next fall says if the watchdog won't do his job, he should resign. The main focus of Ryan's investigation was Constable Victor Trevino. Ryan and Trevino are both Democrats.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
Get more Local »


local
// perform JavaScript after the document is scriptable.OTV.common.modules.promoCarousel.promoCarouselInit("/ktrk/xml?id=5758258&ptnr=promoCarousel");

(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");

View the original article here

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Why won't county attorney discuss alleged attack?

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Tonight a bizarre story: A county lawyer says she was brutally attacked because she's fighting human trafficking. But even her own boss admits there's no evidence.

We have an email trail that raises even more questions. And it gets more curious. When we wanted to see time sheets at the County Attorney's office as part of our investigation, somebody changed them, and we're crying foul.

This is the image Linda Geffin wants you to see -- her windbreaker emblazoned with the word 'LAW;' The head of Vince Ryan's special prosecutions unit, fighting human trafficking.

"Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world industry. It is a $32 billion industry," Geffin said in a TV interview.

So imagine the sympathy when the Houston Chronicle splashed this headline this month, 'Did assault victim pay price for crime fight?'

In it, Geffin says she was likely attacked in her home while she slept because she's fighting organized crime.

"You've got no evidence this is linked to human trafficking," we said.

HPD Sgt. JC Padilla replied, "That's correct."

We've been trying to get the County Attorney's office for weeks to talk about the Geffin attack. They said no.

"Wayne, I really can't do this. This is a security issue that is really not appropriate right now," said Assistant Harris County Attorney Terry O'Rourke.

But that didn't stop the County Attorney's office from then helping the Chronicle sound a public alarm

An unmarked county car now sits outside Geffin's home. But we know the county attorney turned down Geffin's request for a $22,000 security system for her home.

Geffin had compared her reported attack to "an officer down." In an email, Geffin says HPD confirmed it wasn't random. But HPD admits, they don't have a clue who did it.

"Right now, we're asking the public if they have information regarding what happened to Ms. Geffin to please contact us so we can keep this investigation active," said Sgt. Padilla.

Geffin woke up one Sunday morning in September with "considerable head pain, a swollen black eye." But she didn't call 911. A friend took her to the ER.

It was five days before Geffin told police. She admitted she has "no recollection of anything."

In this October email, Geffin admits she's uncertain "whether my house was broken into or if this is something different."

But by November, she's telling her bosses "fact is someone entered my house and assaulted me. I almost died."

In the Chronicle photo, Geffin is apparently able to now show us exactly what happened -- an uppercut to the chin.

Police say medical records show evidence of blunt force trauma. But HPD never sent a crime scene unit to her home, took no prints. Her home alarm didn't go off. Police can't even say where it happened.

"That's one of the things we did, is to see if there was forced entry into her house, not only from the inside, but from the outside," Sgt. Padilla said.

"No sign of that?" we asked.

Sgt Padilla replied, "No, there was not."

Houston police even tested DNA hair samples after Geffin complained. It turned out to be her hair. But she's been critical of the way HPD has handled her case.

"Everything HPD did was at my direction; they failed to do anything appropriate, not just according to me, but to other investigators in the LE community," she wrote.

That's cop lingo for law enforcement.

"I feel like I've been thrown under the bus by the HCAO and the HPD," she said.

We asked Vince Ryan, "Do you believe she was attacked because of her investigations of human trafficking?"

"There's no evidence directly linking that. It's an unfortunate situation, whatever the case may be," said Vince Ryan.

Vince Ryan didn't even call in the FBI to help, or Houston's Federal Task Force on Human Trafficking.

Even in the County Attorney's office, Geffin's case is controversial.

Her supervisor wrote, "It does concern me that she apparently was cleared by her doctor to work from home, but she is reporting she is making public appearances."

And putting as much as 13 hours a day on her time sheet with no one there to supervise exactly what she's doing for you. Geffin is not only making speeches, she's driving all around town. We even saw her shopping at Kroger.

But talking about Linda Geffin and her injuries is a sensitive subject downtown.

"I can't do that right now on television. It's most inappropriate and I think we'll discuss that another time," said Terry O'Rourke.

That's why we asked to see her time sheets. The date of our request was April 2. But look what happened -- her February time sheets were changed. The supervisor didn't sign them until after we asked to see them.

"When you see this, alarm bells go off?" we asked.

"Sure," replied Mike Post, Assistant Harris Co. Auditor.

And check out this time sheet signed by a supervisor seven days before Geffin signed it.

"I don't understand that at all," Post said.

But state law says its a crime to willfully "alter public information."

We complained when a Precinct 6 supervisor changed their time sheets after we asked to see them. Guess who we asked to help us enforce the law? The watchdog. Now we know they do it, too.

"You got to be disappointed; this is the County Attorney's office for gosh sakes," we said.

"I'm surprised," Post said.

On our 13 Undercover Interactive, you can see all the emails for yourself. There's a timeline with emails going on for months about the Geffin attack.

On Friday night, some of the most damaging discoveries yet. And new evidence your county attorney is taking credit for stuff he simply did not do.

Geffin's lawyer wrote us that she should be hailed as a hero. You can read the letter by clicking here.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more 13 Undercover »


13 undercover, wayne dolcefino

View the original article here

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Who's your county attorney really watching out for?

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- We're going to show you something you've never seen before, and when you see it, you'll be asking, why are taxpayers always the last to know?

Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan was elected to be your ethics watchdog, but who's he really watching out for?

When the picture came to focus, it was more than just a simple mug shot, more than a sordid tale of a guy accused of ripping off his own sick sister. That's because this guy was Edwin Harrison, the man in charge of Harris County's investments, trusted to manage billions of your dollars.

"Will you resign?" we asked him.

"I have no comment," he said.

Edwin Harrison did not resign when he was indicted and he wasn't fired, just demoted. But you were kept in the dark about the real story because County Attorney Vince Ryan already had plenty of evidence Mr. Harrison steered your money to brokers who wined and dined him.

"You believe the Harrison case was stonewalled?" we asked Harris County Judge Emmett.

"Oh absolutely," he replied.

Now we're going to show you something you've never seen, one of the reasons we are now watching the watchdog.

Meet Nick Lykos. You pay him $140,000 a year as the county's inspector general, sort of a watchdog for the watchdog.

"Are you independent? Can you do what you want?" we asked Lykos.

"I'm employed by the county attorney. I'm not independent of the county attorney," he said.

This is what Nick Lykos told his bosses back in October 2009, a stunning warning of possible corruption: "It appears Mr. Harrison has breached in fiduciary duty, violated criminal laws, deliberate actions of deception."

The date again was October 2009. But you know when the county judge first saw this report? When we showed it to him just this month.

"That whole episode was so frustrating to me," Emmett said.

The report talks about Harrison displaying photographs of prostitutes on a county computer.

"That report should have been at county commissioner and before the county judge the day after it was prepared," KTRK legal analyst Joel Androphy said.

"Don't you think the public had a right to know then what was going on?" we asked Lykos.

"We were containing the investigation that we had started," he said.

The county attorney's office now says it didn't tell you because they were providing information to the DA's office, which was already investigating Harrison.

But they could've told you, or at least the elected officials who Harrison worked for.

We uncovered another internal memo dated May 2010 -- seven months later; this one from Lykos to the No. 2 man in the county attorney's office, Terry O'Rourke. It showed Harrison's phone number had even been found on the escort page of a controversial website. It warned ladies to avoid Edwin Harrison.

By then, the county judge was openly questioning Harrison's selection of bond law firms during a meeting of commissioners court. Emmett is questioning one law firm's bills, El Franco Lee is interrupting.

Here's an audiotape of the exchange:

El Franco Lee: "A lot of gibberish."

Judge Ed Emmett: "No, it's not gibberish. I think when you're talking about millions of dollars."

El Franco Lee: "We don't normally take up this time with innocuous questions like this."

Judge Ed Emmett: "They're not innocuous. I think the public has a right to hear this discussion."

The county attorney's office knew then something they didn't share with you. It's in that May 2010 report: One of Commissioner Lee's top aides was married to a partner in the very law firm Emmett was questioning. The report recommends "Mr. Harrison be removed as director of financial services." But he wasn't until after his indictment in the family mess months later.

"We were in constant discussion with key members of the commissioners court," Ryan said.

But Ryan won't tell us which commissioners; we know the county judge wasn't told.

"Our report that was given to commissioners court had certain findings in it," Lykos said.

But that was August 2010, 10 months after the original report. Missing in the official report, the recommendation to remove Harrison and all that prostitute stuff. Ironic, since one of Vince Ryan's big crusades is to stop Houston's sex trade.

"I believe he was left where he was longer than he should have been because -- I don't know that you'd call it political protection or bureaucratic protection -- but clearly there were people who didn't him to be removed," Emmett said.

There were financial reforms, and the county attorney helped you get a lot of money back.

"We recovered a million and a half dollars to the taxpayers of Harris County and I think that's significant," Lykos said.

Harrison would eventually plead guilty to felonies in his personal mess to stay out of jail. But Harris County never fired him for his conduct or anyone else. Harrison retired to his million-dollar mansion in Lamar Terrace, and none of the companies involved in the scandal lost their right to make more money from you.

"Is that in the best interest of public?" we asked Emmett.

"Speaking as an individual, I don't think so," he replied.

The FBI is now investigating the whole Harrison mess. Sound familiar, the feds coming here to clean up Harris County again?

On 13 Undercover Interactive, you can see the reports and all the sleazy details, and trust us, there are some.

On Wednesday night, wait till you see some of the emails the county attorney's office writes, what they don't want you to see now.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more 13 Undercover »


13 undercover, wayne dolcefino

View the original article here

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Houston attorney gets 4 years for child porn

AP  HOUSTON -- A Houston attorney who had more than 9,000 images of child pornography on his computers has been sentenced to four years in federal prison.

Prosecutors on Monday announced the sentence for 50-year-old William George Gammon.

Gammon in May pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. Investigators say the child porn images were found on two computers seized from Gammon's home in 2009.

No date has been set for Gammon to report to prison. He's been free on bond since his June 2010 arrest.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »


local

View the original article here

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Attorney asks for $145M in rape case

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Closing arguments are underway in the trial against former military contractor KBR. Former KBR employee Jamie Leigh Jones claims she was raped by co-workers while in Iraq in 2005.

Until now, damages have been unspecified, but during closing arguments on Thursday morning Jones' attorney laid out damages in this case they believe are set at about $145 million.

Jones claims she was raped and beaten shortly after arriving to Camp Hope in Iraq in 2005. Her lawsuit claims KBR, in addition to her alleged attackers, are at fault for creating a hostile work environment.

In court on Thursday, Jones' attorney said this was bigger than Jones' case and that the corporations were watching to see what kind of rules they had to follow. He told the jury, "We are well past rape. We all know Jamie was raped."

KBR's attorney responded directly to that claim as he began his closing arguments, saying, "I did not get that memo. I do not agree with that statement."

The attorney continued by explaining why they do not believe Jones was raped.

As for the $145 million, her attorney say that takes into account past and future lost wages, emotional anguish, medical issues and also the discussion about whether or not KBR created that hostile work environment and acted to put an end to the situation.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »


iraq, local, elissa rivas

View the original article here

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Attorney: KBR created hostile work environment

See it on TV? Check here.AP  HOUSTON -- A hostile work environment has been a longtime problem for military contractor KBR Inc., which failed to protect workers who were sexually assaulted or harassed, said an attorney for a woman who claims she was raped by co-workers in Iraq.

Jamie Leigh Jones, 26, is one of several female contract workers for KBR and its former parent Halliburton Co. who claim they were sexually assaulted or harassed while working for the companies in Iraq. Jones says she was raped in 2005 while working for KBR at Camp Hope, Baghdad. She has sued the company, Halliburton and a former KBR firefighter she says was one of her rapists. Her attorney, L. Todd Kelly, said Tuesday in his opening statement that as far back as 1998, KBR created a hostile working environment in which employees who were sexually assaulted or harassed were scared into not reporting what happened to them or fired while their harassers were promoted and protected by the company. "KBR did a lot to keep this secret," Kelly said. "KBR doesn't take care of its people." Kelly told jurors that Jones asked to be transferred to Iraq after being sexually harassed by a supervisor in Houston. Once overseas, she endured "catcalls" from men in the predominantly male barracks where she lived, he said. Jones' lawsuit says that on July 28, 2005, she was drugged with what she believes was Rohypnol and then raped in her room by former KBR firefighter Charles Bortz and several others. She said the rape left her severely bruised, ruptured her breast implants and tore her pectoral muscles. The Associated Press usually doesn't identify people alleging sexual assault, but Jones' face and name have been broadcast in media reports and on her own website. Kelly told jurors that Jones reported the rape to KBR officials, who placed her under armed guard, held her in a shipping container for hours and wouldn't allow her to make a phone call. Jones was able to convince one of the guards to let her use his phone, and she called her father in the United States. Jones' father contacted Rep. Ted Poe, R-Houston, who helped get her released, Kelly said. Jones is originally from Conroe, about 40 miles north of Houston. Andrew McKinney, one of Bortz's attorneys, told jurors his client and Jones had consensual sex. Bortz has filed a countersuit against Jones that the jury also will decide at the trial. Attorneys for KBR also were scheduled to present their opening statements. Daniel Hedges, one of the attorneys for KBR and Halliburton, has previously said the companies "welcome the opportunity to present what really happened in Iraq." The Houston-based companies split in 2007. KBR and Halliburton had contended Jones' case should be settled through arbitration as stipulated in her contract. But an appeals court let her lawsuit, first filed in 2007, go to trial. Due in part to Jones' case, federal lawmakers in 2009 approved a measure prohibiting contractors and subcontractors that receive $1 million in funds from the Department of Defense from requiring employees to resolve sexual assault allegations and other claims through arbitration. The trial could last up to three weeks. (Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Get more Local »


local


View the original article here

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Attorney says dad didn't confess to killing son

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The remains of a 10-year-old boy were found in a box in the back of an SUV. Both of the victim's parents were arrested Sunday, but we've learned that the mother is not facing charges right now. The boy's father is still charged, and we are hearing from his attorney.

Attorneys for Jeffrey Singer, 45, say he denies he had anything to do with the death of his disabled son. Singer is still in the Pasadena jail. He is charged with felony injury to a child by omission.

Singer was taken into custody Sunday after investigators say he drove to his father's home and, according to police, told his father about his 10-year-old disabled son's body being in a box in the back of his SUV. Investigators discovered the box, which reportedly had a foul odor.


Pasadena police say they found the full body of Jonathan Singer, 10, in the box. Police say the child suffered from cerebral palsy and weighed 35 to 40 pounds.


Singer's attorney says his client never admitted to killing his child, not even to his own father. He adds that Singer is distraught by his son's death.


"His defense is that he didn't kill his son," stated defense attorney Jim Lindeman. "We're not going to go into details of what occurred on different dates, other than to say that we're looking forward to the autopsy reports. I think it's going to verify my client's account that he did not kill his son and is not criminally responsible for any wrongdoing. He's very depressed. I can't put it any other way. That's how he appeared when I visited him yesterday."


We asked Lindeman for an explanation as to how the body ended up in a box in his client's SUV. We were told that the explanation has been given to police, but he would not comment on that publicly.


Singer's wife was taken into custody Sunday and released later that evening. There are no charges against her currently, but a police spokesperson says they are pending further investigation.


Singer's bond is set at $50,000.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

View the original article here