Sentencing is set for July 28th after the former chief operating officer (COO) of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and a landscaper were found guilty of bribery, tampering with witnesses and willfully filing false tax returns.
Investigators said Brian Busby colluded with the school district's landscaping contractor to direct contracts for land improvements to a company run by Anthony Hutchison in exchange for bribes and work done on Busby's home.
Prosecutors accused the two of defrauding HISD in the amount of about $7 million, and a jury found them guilty on all 33 counts of conspiracy in the bribery scheme.
The case goes back to February, 2020, when FBI agents raided Busby's and Hutchison's homes and businesses after investigators combed through records dating back ten years, finding what they called cheating, overbilling, and conspiracy.
It took a Harris County jury just six hours to find Busby, who over the years rose from the position of HISD janitor to the executive position of COO, and Hutchison guilty.
On the conspiracy, bribery, and witness tampering charges, the two men could receive sentences of up to five, ten or fifteen years respectively. There could be more prison time added to their sentencing for related false tax return filing and wire fraud convictions.