Fired City Hall employees testifying today

Grand jury testimony for the former city employees who were fired for receiving improper bonuses begins today.

As two of the city employees fired for taking unauthorized bonuses appeared before a Harris County grand jury Wednesday, prosecutors said the panel could soon weigh felony charges against them.

Harris County Assistant District Attorney Don Smyth, who heads the office's governmental affairs division, said the grand jurors would consider charges of tampering with a government record or theft by a public servant, perhaps as soon as next week.

"We're trying to get this thing before a grand jury, get a fair hearing, before the end of September," he said.

First, though, the panel is expected to hear testimony Friday from two other fired workers in the Office of Mayor Pro Tem who were subpoenaed to explain their shares of $143,000 in bonuses the city contends were unauthorized.

The grand jurors also are scheduled to hear from Councilwoman Carol Alvarado, who formerly supervised the employees. She is testifying without a subpoena and hasn't been implicated in any wrongdoing.

Smyth said the panel would also view evidence prosecutors compiled during a "massive" seven-month investigation before deciding whether there is probable cause for any charges.

As is often the case with this kind of investigation, it's hard to imagine the grand jury failing to hand down any indictments. Like doctoral committees, the formalities don't usually take place unless there's a good reason to believe they will produce the expected result. Getting indictments is not Chuck Rosenthal's problem, it's doing something with them where he tends to stumble. Stay tuned.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on September 21, 2006 to Local politics | TrackBack