It’s not about educating the kids.
It’s about enriching themselves.
Former HISD chief operating officer Brian Busby has been indicted for corruption.
More disturbing is the number of HISD officials taking plea deals including former HISD Board of Education president Rhonda Skillern-Jones.
The Department of Justice announced yesterday:
“This investigation and resulting indictments reflect my office’s commitment to rooting out public corruption in the Southern District of Texas,” said Lowery. “We will not stand idly by when there are people in positions of trust who are suspected of such wrongdoing. We will consider any matter our law enforcement partners bring us involving suspected fraud, waste and abuse of power by those in whom we have placed our faith and confidence and work to hold them accountable.”
A federal grand jury returned the indictment Dec. 14, which was unsealed today. Previously filed was a plea agreement former HISD Board of Education president Rhonda Skillern-Jones, 39, Houston, had entered as well as plea agreements by other former HISD officials. Those officials included Derrick Sanders, 50, Missouri City, officer of construction services; Alfred Hoskins, 58, Missouri City, general manager of facilities, maintenance and operations; Gerron Hall, 47, Missouri City, area manager for maintenance (south); and Luis Tovar, 39, Huffman, area manager for maintenance (north).”
What is Busby accused of doing? Busby along with contractor Anthony Hutchinson are accused of conspiracy, bribery and witness tampering.
Investigators say Busby approved proposals from Hutchison and paid for work that was not performed. Busby was given cash bribes and thousands of dollars in home remodeling in exchange.
"According to the indictment, Hoskins, Sanders, Hall, Tovar and Skillern-Jones conspired with Busby and Hutchison to accept bribes from Hutchison for helping to award, or not interfering in the award of, HISD contracts to Hutchison.
Operating as Southwest Wholesale, Hutchison allegedly entered long-term contracts with HISD to provide grounds maintenance to schools. The indictment alleges that from 2011 to 2020, Hutchison systematically overbilled HISD and inflated bills for services, causing millions of dollars in loss to the school district. Hutchison paid a portion of his fraudulently boosted profits to Busby in the form of cash payments and free home remodeling, according to the charges.
According to the indictment, Hutchison also obtained purchase orders for construction, repair, landscaping and maintenance jobs at particular HISD schools. Hutchison obtained these jobs by paying cash bribes, mostly in the form of kickbacks, to HISD personnel who assisted him in obtaining business with HISD, according to the charges. Those allegedly included Busby, Sanders, Hoskins, Hall, Tovar and Skillern-Jones.
According to the indictment, once Busby and Hutchison learned of the federal criminal probe, they took steps to interfere in the investigation.
Sanders, Hoskins, Hall and Tovar have admitted they helped award, or refrained from interfering in the award of, HISD jobs to Hutchison, typically at Busby’s insistence. As part of her plea, Skillern-Jones admitted that, in return for bribe payments from Hutchison, she caused an expenditure of funds for school landscaping and construction projects to be placed on a 2017 HISD Board agenda and voted to approve it. They were eventually awarded to Hutchison. In her plea agreement, she admitted Busby personally delivered thousands of dollars in bribe payments to her from Hutchison."