Dan Morales' brother in extortion probe

The brother of former Attorney General Dan Morales is the target of an extortion investigation.

Quoting sources speaking on condition of anonymity, the [Dallas Morning News] said federal agents have identified music producer Michael Morales as the person who called the gubernatorial campaign of Tony Sanchez and threatened to make public an allegation that Sanchez committed a felony more than 30 years ago.

Prosecutors are investigating whether Michael Morales tried to extort between $200,000 and $300,000 from Sanchez, a Laredo banker who ultimately was defeated by Republican Gov. Rick Perry last fall.

Rick Perry's campaign received an anonymous solicitation in April for this information as well. They declined. In October, the Sanchez campaign was contacted with threats to make this info public. Apparently, the seller struck out both times.

Don't know if anything will come of this. Just another chapter in the history of Texas politics, I guess.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on January 06, 2003 to Scandalized! | TrackBack