It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time
Doesn't it make you Houstonians feel proud to know that your brand new police chief is part of a grand jury investigation?
Grand jury subpoenas were issued Monday night and city leaders were being called in for questioning after learning the City of Houston accepted a two-bedroom suite at a downtown hotel as a gift.I'm sure Rosenthal and White and Moore and Hurtt will get to the bottom of it.The downtown Hyatt $775-a-night two-bedroom suite has been occupied by the city's new police chief, Harold Hurtt, as a temporary residence since March 11.
Mayor Bill White's Chief of Staff Michael Moore said it is not uncommon for the city to cover lodging costs while a new department head looks for a house.
However, when another business pays the tab instead, prosecutors said the city could be caught committing a crime.
"We checked with (our lawyers) before we did anything and (they) said it was fine. We're all about saving taxpayer dollars," Moore said.
But even though the mayor's legal team approved the deal, Harris County's top prosecutor said they could be committing a crime, violating laws that ban gifts to public servants.
"One of them has to do with benefiting a public official or offering a benefit to a public official who may regulate you or regulate what you do," Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal said. "Just because you can do that in private business, doesn't mean you can necessarily do that in government. We're restricted by other aspects of the law."
Meanwhile, I'd like to try out a $775/night hotel suite sometime. I knew I should have done law enforcement instead of all that political science crap. *sigh*
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/25/04 22:00 | Houston | Technorati
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Comments
I did not vote for White, but I would vote to impeach him. Is it just me or is this guy coming apart at the seams? Our PD chief is not a policeman, he lives in the lap of luxury, and now this wrecker fiasco. What is up with all of this?
Posted by Tony @ 23:27 on 02/10/05
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