DALLAS – A Houston-area school district whose board secretary was indicted on bribery charges, along with a former board member and a contractor, provided details on the case in a disclosure notice to bond investors.
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“The District has cooperated fully with the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s office in connection with its investigation of the matter,” the notice said. “To the District’s knowledge, the investigation and charges do not call into question any existing contractual arrangements or operations of the District.”
Although it was not clear whether the indictments represented a material event under the bond prospectus’ disclosure requirements, an attorney for the bond counsel firm Bracewell said the district would exercise “an abundance of caution.”
The notice came about a month after LCISD priced $114 million of bonds for its current bond program.
Anna Gonzales, board secretary for the district, was indicted by the county grand jury on charges of bribery, attempt to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery, engaging in organized criminal activity, gift to public servant, abuse of official capacity, and coercion of a public servant, according to the disclosure notice.
Gonzales remains on the board, and fellow trustees have not asked her to step down, according to the Fort Bend Herald.
A former LCISD board member Jesse Torres, currently a Richmond, Texas, city commissioner, was also indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, engaging in organized criminal activity, fabrication of physical evidence and tampering with government records with intent to defraud.
Torres received $2,500 from individuals employed at PBK, an architectural firm that has designed numerous LCISD facilities, the Herald reported.
The contractor, Jim Gonzales, no relation to Anna Gonzales, is the chief executive of IDC Inc., a project management firm that has worked with the district on bond projects and has also worked with other local governments.
Gonzales was charged with bribery, attempt to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery, engaging in organized criminal activity, and offer of a gift to a public servant.
An attorney for Jim Gonzales did not return phone calls from The Bond Buyer, but told the Herald that the charges were political and the result of a “runaway grand jury.”
The case stems from attempts to steer a bond project management contract to a company named Gilbane that had a consulting relationship with IDC and was already working with the district, according to news reports.
Gilbane had worked with the district on managing proposals and cost estimates for bond projects since 2003, according to the Herald.
At a June 18, 2015 meeting of the LCISD board, a newly elected member of the board alleged that a representative of the contractor had offered him and another newly elected board member cash during the course of their political campaigns, which in both cases was refused.
“At this same meeting, the board president accused the board secretary of attempting to intimidate her (the board president) into voting in favor of the proposed contract by threatening to vote against an item of interest to the board president,” the notice stated. “The Board of Trustees subsequently awarded the program management contract to a different program manager in compliance with its procurement guidelines and Texas law.”
According to an account of the June 2015 board meeting in the Herald, Gilbane was identified as the firm that helped devise the district’s $220 million bond program in return for an $8 million fee.
Before her election to the LCISD board, Anna Gonzales opened a joint bank account, which was initially funded by Jim Gonzales with $15,800, according to the Herald.
Voters in the fast-growing district approved $240.6 million of school construction bonds on Nov. 4, 2014. The money was earmarked for five new elementary schools, a new middle school and other improvements.
