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FBI Raids HISD Offices

Viper

By Viper
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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31705

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The thing that characterizes rich school districts first is that they are relatively small.  So there are fewer nooks and crannies for corruption to grow and hide.

I suspect you might find that smaller, less wealthy districts are less corrupt than the big ones.

I have long thought that from a business perspective, large ISDs need to be broken into smaller units.  This would exacerbate de facto segregation, though.

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Nueces River Rat

Nueces River Rat 5608

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6 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

The thing that characterizes rich school districts first is that they are relatively small.  So there are fewer nooks and crannies for corruption to grow and hide.

I suspect you might find that smaller, less wealthy districts are less corrupt than the big ones.

I have long thought that from a business perspective, large ISDs need to be broken into smaller units.  This would exacerbate de facto segregation, though.

Pretty much..

The ISD's in the valley are extremely overloaded with bureaucracy and filled with many make work type of positions for political payback.  They are probably the largest employer in most towns down there save maybe McAllen.   Don't get me wrong  there are some honest people on some of the school boards, but they go into that position often trying to make lemonade out of lemons.  

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  • 6 months later...
tx ind

tx ind 7015

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Nothing to see here...

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/education/article/Feds-accuse-Houston-ISD-chief-operating-officer-15584442.php

Feds accuse Houston ISD chief operating officer of taking kickbacks from contractor

The February raid on Houston ISD headquarters and the home of the district’s chief operating officer stemmed from allegations that the high-ranking administrator engaged in a kickback scheme with a district contractor, newly filed court records show.

In a civil forfeiture complaint filed by an assistant U.S. attorney Thursday, federal officials allege Chief Operating Officer Brian Busby conspired to pay an unnamed contractor for work performed by district employees in exchange for kickbacks. Federal agents seized $90,150 in cash from Busby’s home in February, as well as $95,874 in cash from the home and vehicle of the contractor, according to the filing.

Busby has not been charged with a crime, though federal officials wrote in the filing that the seized money is traceable to “the proceeds of federal programs theft and wire fraud.”

HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan placed Busby on paid home duty following the raid. His current job status was not immediately available.

Busby remained on the district payroll with a salary of $221,000 as of Sept. 1. However, Lathan has appointed an interim chief operating officer, and HISD posted an advertisement for the position in mid-August.

Busby did not immediately respond Monday to a voicemail or message sent via Twitter. Court records do not list a lawyer representing Busby.

The forfeiture complaint offers the first details of why federal agents descended on HISD’s headquarters and Busby’s Cypress home in the early morning hours. Federal officials had not commented on the reason for the raid or filed any court records outlining the nature of their investigation.

In the filing, federal officials said the contractor owns a lawn and landscaping business that has performed work in the district. The owner received a multimillion-dollar contract in 2016 for grounds maintenance, landscaping, irrigation, and tree pruning and removal, according to the filing.

Federal officials said “there is reason to believe” Busby, the contractor and unnamed other individuals conspired to get HISD to pay the contractor’s business “for work that it did not perform.”

“At times, HISD employees performed a portion of the contracted work, often at overtime rates,” the federal attorney, Kristine Rollinson, wrote in her complaint.

Rollinson added that the contractor wrote checks from his business account to other people, including subcontractors, who would then cash the checks and return the cash to the contractor.

Federal officials also said Busby would meet with the contractor or the contractor’s representative, and subsequently make “multiple cash deposits into various bank accounts he controlled.”

The six-page filing does not offer extensive details of the allegations or name any individuals, though it refers to HISD’s chief operating officer as of the date of the raid.

Busby has spent more than 20 years working for HISD, rising from a custodian to the district’s second-highest paid employees. As chief operating officer, he oversaw several departments that combine to employ about 7,000 people, including business operations, maintenance, procurement and transportation.

Busby’s wife, Courtney, works for HISD as a school support officer. Her employment status did not change following the raid and the civil forfeiture claim does not reference her.

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tx ind

tx ind 7015

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https://abc13.com/houston-isd-fbi-raid-brian-busby-southwest-wholesale/7452388/

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A landscaping business allegedly billed the Houston Independent School District $6 million for work it was contracted to perform, but never completed, according to a filing in federal court this week.

Federal investigators say Southwest Wholesale LLC, which contracts with HISD, overbilled the district hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from 2013 to February 2020, when the FBI raided the district's administration building and then-HISD Chief Operating Officer Brian Busby's home.

 


Court documents filed Wednesday allege Busby "shared in those proceeds by receiving kickbacks and benefits from the contractor, including payments in cash."

Busby's attorney Dick DeGuerin denied those allegations, telling 13 Investigates that Busby and Southwest Wholesale LLC president Anthony Hutchison are longtime friends and any money exchanged between the two had nothing to do with HISD, but instead gambling and personal business dealings.

The recent court filing says Southwest Wholesale's landscaping contract with the district called for "35 cuts per property per year, although only 20 cuts per property per year were performed."
From 2013 to 2019, the contractor allegedly overbilled HISD anywhere from $604,928 to $991,694 annually, per court documents.

"As part of his conspiracy, (Busby) caused his managers to authorize and approve overtime pay to HISD grounds to mow some of the properties that Southwest Wholesale was being paid to mow," the court filing says. "The fact that the Southwest Wholesale jobs were completed by HISD grounds crews was not documented at HISD, but the overtime was submitted and HISD paid the overtime wages. In addition, Southwest Wholesale would still bill HISD for mowing those properties, although it did not actually perform that work."

DeGuerin said Busby was not in charge of supervising or overseeing how the terms of Southwest Wholesale's contract was fulfilled.

"It's below his level at HISD. He doesn't have any specific knowledge about whether jobs were or were not done," DeGuerin said. "He does know that Hutchison did more work than he was required to do when there was a need for it."

Wednesday's filing also mentions a $984,600 contract Southwest Wholesale submitted a proposal for in March 2018 for the renovation of playing fields at Sharpstown Middle School.

"The COO approved the proposal even though another person at HISD raised concerns about the high price," the federal filing alleges. "Southwest Wholesale failed to perform much of the work specified in the contract, including but not limited to installing a handicap ramp, marking and striping, repairing the asphalt on the track, planting 55 65-gallon trees, and installing two trashcans in cement bases. The invoice, however, was paid in full by HISD."

 


DeGuerin said some the work at the middle school was done on an "emergency basis" as part of recovery efforts following Hurricane Harvey seven months earlier.

In the recent filing, prosecutors also mention a text message on March 3, 2018 from Busby to Hutchinson with a photo of two bank deposit envelopes with "10,000" and "8,800.00" written on them. It was accompanied by a text message that said "No biggie but just wanted you to know what you gave me bro."

DeGuerin said Busby and Hutchinson would play poker and gamble in Las Vegas and Louisiana.

"They have traveled together. They've gambled together. They gambled with each other," he said. "It's not unusual to see them travelling together or have money passing between the two of them that has absolutely nothing to do with HISD, but their own personal business with each other."

About $90,000 in cash was seized from Busby's home in February and $95,000 in cash was seized from Hutchison.

RELATED: Former HISD employee seeks return of $90K seized in FBI raid

Both have asked for the seized funds to be returned, claiming the federal government failed to directly connect the seized funds to any alleged illegal activity.

A court filing last week asking for the return of the funds says the former HISD leader was "shocked and confused" as federal agents "entered the home with their guns drawn going from room to room," while "Busby and his family stood there in pajamas."

Busby, whose contract with HISD was not renewed this year, had been sleeping when the FBI executed a search warrant at his home in the early morning hours of February 27.

 


"Busby asked the agent in charge what was going on - what he had done wrong," according to a court document filed Tuesday. "The agent told Mr. Busby he would not discuss why they were there, or what they were searching for, unless Mr. Busby waived his right under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution to be free from police interrogation without assistance of a lawyer."

Busby didn't waive his rights, but still assisted the agents by giving them passcodes to his cellphones and directing them to a safe with $90,150, which was seized, according to court documents.

"We're going to do a complete accounting of all the business between (Busby and Hutchison) and all the monies that were found in the search of Brian's house," DeGuerin said. "We hope to do that in the civil case."
RELATED: FBI at HISD admin building months after allegations of mismanagement

Busby and Hutchison have not been charged with any crimes. Hutchison's attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

HISD said last week that it has no further comment on the federal filing. The district is not listed as a party in the civil litigation involving Busby, but the FBI spent more than three hours at the district's administration building earlier this year as part of its investigation.

As chief operating officer at HISD, Busby oversaw an annual operating budget of more than $260 million and led a workforce of more than 7,000 employees, including facilities, maintenance and operations of school grounds.

He was initially assigned to at-home duty with pay on Feb. 27, after the district learned of the FBI's investigation. In a memo to Busby in May, the district directed Busby not to communicate with any other HISD employees. The district did not offer him a contract for the 2020-21 school year, and his last day with the district was Aug. 31.

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Beau Vine

Beau Vine 55012

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On 10/30/2020 at 10:44 AM, tx ind said:

https://abc13.com/houston-isd-fbi-raid-brian-busby-southwest-wholesale/7452388/

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A landscaping business allegedly billed the Houston Independent School District $6 million for work it was contracted to perform, but never completed, according to a filing in federal court this week.

Federal investigators say Southwest Wholesale LLC, which contracts with HISD, overbilled the district hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from 2013 to February 2020, when the FBI raided the district's administration building and then-HISD Chief Operating Officer Brian Busby's home.

Should have gone with Four Seasons Total Landscaping instead.  They do honest work.

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