Mayor Turner's Aide Accepted Bribe To Help Bar Skirt COVID Restrictions

The culture of corruption from the Democrats running Harris County and the City of Houston.

A top aide to Mayor Sylvester Turner resigns after pleading guilty to accepting bribe to allow a bar to be classified as a “restaurant” in order to stay open longer during the COVID lockdown.

Houston & Harris County is well on the way to matching the corruption of Chicago.

In the past year, we’ve had City of Houston Housing Director Tom McCasland resign after basically accusing Mayor Turner of fixing the bidding process in order to award a $15 million contract to a firm run by Turner’s former law partner.

Also, the former HISD Board president (HCC trustee at the time) took a plea deal in a corruption case, while HISD’s former chief operating officer is under federal indictment.

And of course, Lina Hidalgo top three aides were indicted for fixing the bidding process to award a multi-million dollar COVID outreach contract to a Democrat operative.

The Houston Chronicle reports:

“A senior mayoral aide pleaded guilty to federal public corruption charges last week, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation, and resigned from his position at City Hall. 

William-Paul Thomas, Mayor Sylvester Turner’s liaison to City Council, admitted on July 25 to conspiracy to accept a cash bribe in exchange for changing a bar’s classification to a restaurant, the official said. The change allowed the bar to stay open longer during COVID-19 restrictions…

Thomas pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen and was released on bond. He abruptly resigned his position the day after his plea. 

Councilman Michael Kubosh told ABC13 in response to this case, “former Housing Director Tom McCasland said this mayor created a culture of corruption. This is further evidence of the corruption.”