New evidence in the Dallas City Hall public corruption case levels further bribery allegations against former City Council members Don Hill and James Fantroy, and resurrects accusations against state Rep. Terri Hodge that she used her influence in exchange for political contributions.
Defense attorneys strongly opposed release of the allegations, which they called a vague "prosecutorial wish list."
"They are not charges," said Abbe Lowell, attorney for low-income housing developer Brian Potashnik, in a joint request on behalf of several defendants to U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn to keep the information under wraps. "They have not been reviewed by a grand jury. And they are far from proven events."
Judge Lynn on Tuesday issued an order saying the "defendants have not articulated a persuasive justification for sealing" the information and ordered its public release, which occurred Wednesday.
Among the new allegations are that Mr. Hill sent co-defendant Andrea Spencer to "two known homebuilders" to ask for consulting contracts "in return for political support" after the builders sought help "on matters before the council."
Earlier this year, Ms. Spencer pleaded guilty to charges that she funneled bribes from Mr. Potashnik, owner of Southwest Housing, to Mr. Hill and his appointee to the City Plan Commission, D'Angelo Lee.
The homebuilders are among several new players in the case not named in the documents, which serve as notice to defense attorneys that prosecutors plan to bring up the alleged misdeeds at the January trial.
Federal criminal court rules allow prosecutors to attempt to get other misdeeds not charged in the indictment into evidence at trial to help show that the defendants had, among other things, motive or opportunity to commit the crimes with which they are charged. They are required to release the evidence early to give defendants a chance to rebut it.
Prosecutors typically do not seal such notices of intent to bring up new allegations, said Floyd Clardy, a former federal prosecutor in Dallas and Washington, D.C.
"It's pretty damaging evidence usually," he said. But just because it is public does not mean that jurors will hear about it at trial. "Judges often don't let it in because it's not charged in the indictment and may prejudice the jury."
Mr. Clardy said what is unusual is for prosecutors to be vague about such evidence.
"If the prosecutor doesn't disclose it adequately, the defense can say they didn't have proper notice," he said. "But if the government goes into too much detail, it could generate so much publicity that the judge might grant a change of venue. It's a Catch-22."
Last fall's 166-page indictment, which followed a high-profile two-year FBI investigation, charges Mr. Hill, Mr. Lee and Ms. Hodge, D-Dallas, with taking bribes from Mr. Potashnik using a variety of intermediaries also charged with crimes.
Among the other allegations unsealed Wednesday are that Ms. Hodge "received payments from families of Texas prison inmates in return for her political support and assistance on proceedings affecting the inmate before the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole."
Ms. Hodge, an influential legislator on criminal justice issues, has long denied peddling her influence to get inmates released on parole in exchange for money since she was confronted by a local TV news station on the matter in 2006. Neither she nor her attorneys returned phone calls Wednesday.
Prosecutors further allege that Ms. Hodge, already accused in the indictment of accepting rent payments and new carpet from Mr. Potashnik in exchange for her office's influence, demanded that "a known developer" provide one of her office assistants with free rent on one of the developer's properties. That developer's identity is not listed in the documents.
The new evidence accuses Mr. Fantroy of giving Mr. Potashnik "political support and votes on tax credit projects" after the developer hired Mr. Fantroy's security company to work in his housing developments.
Mr. Fantroy is not named in the main indictment, but he was charged and convicted earlier this year of stealing money from Paul Quinn College. He is serving a six-month home confinement sentence. He did not return a phone message.
Among the other allegations that prosecutors make against Mr. Hill:
From November 2004 to January 2005, he supposedly threatened to "withdraw political support, votes and assistance for a known company if that entity did not give a concession contract to a known individual."
In 2005, after an unnamed restaurant owner asked for help on a zoning issue, Mr. Hill and Mr. Lee requested the owner "collect campaign contributions and hold a fundraising event for the benefit of Hill."
Mr. Hill allegedly told a "known individual that he would withhold his vote in relation to a matter pending before the council regarding a contract in the Dallas Arts District" unless supporters "paid some money."
He also is accused of having "problems" with the state bar "involving the handling [of] client funds." Mr. Hill is an attorney.
The U.S. attorney's office declined to comment on the new evidence.
In addition to Ms. Spencer, co-defendant Allen McGill has also pleaded guilty in the case. He is expected to testify about alleged kickbacks passed to Mr. Hill from business partner Darren Reagan. Mr. Reagan is charged in the main case but was convicted earlier this year of defrauding the local housing authority.
