 |
Scope of case sets apart Hill's trial from 2 others
12:00 AM CDT on Monday, June 29, 2009
Opening statements begin today in the public corruption trial of former Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill. This will be the third time a Dallas City Council member has faced such charges, but this one is likely to be the granddaddy of them all.
Thirteen years ago this month, former Dallas City Council member Paul Fielding was charged with corruption. Three years later, civil rights icon and fellow council member Al Lipscomb was indicted on bribery charges.
Fielding's case had the novelty of being the first of its kind. The prosecution of Lipscomb, who in 1971 became Dallas' first black mayoral candidate, angered many and sparked a groundswell of support not only from southern Dallas constituents but also some of the city's corporate elite, all expressing disbelief that a man with such a track record could be crooked.
Hill's case is groundbreaking in its breadth. It encompasses 14 defendants and a web of alleged mischief involving extortion and bribes surrounding low-income housing deals that took prosecutors 166 pages to explain in their fall 2007 indictment. All but five defendants have pleaded guilty.
"The bulk of the difference is that the current corruption case is perceived to be so much larger," said Michael Sorrell, a Dallas lawyer and president of Dallas' Paul Quinn College. "I think people are struggling to get their arms around the entirety of it."
One marked difference between the Hill trial and the Lipscomb trial is that thus far, Hill has not rallied throngs of supporters. A recent prayer vigil for him and his wife, Sheila, also charged, drew a few dozen people.
"The major difference was Al Lipscomb was much more of an iconic figure than any of the figures in this case," said Paul Coggins, the former U.S. attorney in Dallas who oversaw Lipscomb's prosecution. "I think the Lipscomb case was much more of an emotional setting than this will be."
Lipscomb is still an active political figure in Dallas. He says few people know what the Hills, and the others who are facing trial, are going through.
"That's a hell of a thing to have you and your wife going through something like this," he said. "It's a trauma."
But Lipscomb said he is surprised by the lack of outward support by the black community in the Hill case.
"You're innocent until proven guilty," the 84-year-old civil rights fighter exclaimed. "Where are the so-called leaders? Hiding behind a post?"
Sorrell cautioned that support for Hill may be deeper than people realize.
"People forget that he was a really, really good councilman," he said.
On June 21, 1996, Fielding, the council's self-described fiscal watchdog, was indicted on eight counts of fraud and conspiracy. Many were surprised that not only was he accused of extorting money from companies, but that part of his plan was to do it under the threat of racial unrest. Fielding is white.
He was accused of, among other things, pressuring Electronic Data Systems into signing a $1 million contract with a janitorial firm to which he had ties. In exchange, prosecutors say, Fielding promised help in a zoning case.
During his trial, jurors heard secret FBI recordings of him, council colleague Lipscomb and an informant talking in a City Council break room. They spoke of forming a "minority front" company and forcing big companies to do business with it or risk being picketed.
"They don't like me at all," Fielding was heard saying on an FBI tape, referring to electronics giant Texas Instruments, a proposed target of the alleged scheme. "But they know that ignoring me is not in their best interest."
On April 15, 1997, a day after the tapes were played at trial, Fielding resigned his council seat and pleaded guilty.
U.S. District Judge Paul Brown sentenced him to 41 months in prison and ordered him to pay nearly $900,000 in restitution. "You have, I think, in fact used race relations and a play on people's feelings about them for your own commercial advantage, and to the detriment of better and harmonious relations between the races in this country," he told Fielding.
Fielding, who could not be reached for comment, has not re-entered politics. His sister, Linda Koop, is serving her second term as District 11's City Council representative in North Dallas.
Lipscomb denied he was involved in any sham minority business enterprises, or any other corruption. But the FBI soon closed in.
On March 4, 1999, he was indicted for allegedly taking more than $94,000 in payoffs from a cab company owner in exchange for his vote.
U.S. District Judge Joe Kendall moved the trial to Amarillo without prompting by either the defense or prosecution.
Billy Ravkind, one of Lipscomb's lawyers, said the defense team knew it wouldn't get a good jury in the Panhandle.
"It came down to, you need African-Americans. Nothing magic about that," he said. "It's not a good thing to say, but it's true – race plays a huge part in these types of cases."
An all-white jury was seated in Amarillo.
Lipscomb was tried on 65 counts of bribery. He testified that the payments did not influence him and were made out of generosity.
Prosecutors produced records that showed the councilman changed his voting patterns on issues relating to the cab company after he began receiving $1,000 a month from Yellow Cab Co. owner Floyd Richards.
Lipscomb did acknowledge in court that when Richards began treating minorities better, he began supporting his firm with his votes.
He was convicted on all counts.
On July 12, 2002, an appeals court threw out all of Lipscomb's convictions and ordered a new trial. The reason: Kendall's decision to move the case to Amarillo. The higher court ruled that it was wrong for Kendall to assume that seating a jury in Dallas would be difficult because of pretrial publicity.
The next month, then-U.S. Attorney Jane Boyle dismissed all charges against the 77-year-old.
"What an ordeal," Mr. Lipscomb told his church congregation after his release from home confinement. "Keep this city in your prayers."
Lipscomb's former appointee to the city's Plan Commission, James Fantroy, succeeded him in 2000 as District 8 councilman.
In 2005, the FBI raided Fantroy's security firm, as well as Hill's office at City Hall and the offices of Southwest Housing, owned by Brian and Cheryl Potashnik.
They were hunting for evidence of payoffs by the Potashniks to Hill, funneled through his associates.
After more than two years of complaints that the raids unfairly targeted blacks, prosecutors unveiled their corruption indictments in fall 2007.
During jury selection last week, Hill and the other defendants argued that prosecutors had unfairly excluded blacks from the jury.
As part of a compromise, an additional black juror was added to the panel. Of the 16 jurors, including four alternates, who will be sworn in today, four are black, four Hispanic and eight white.
Hill and his supporters have said the FBI investigation is a product of the Bush era, which they have said unfairly targeted Democrats and black leaders. Last week, Hill said he thinks U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder should review the case, contending the charges are politically motivated.
Hill's recent public pronouncements alleging prosecutorial misconduct nearly got him thrown in jail for violating the gag order in the case, prompting talk that he might be contemplating a martyr strategy to drum up more support.
More support is something Lipscomb thinks Hill deserves.
"Hill is a deacon in his church," Lipscomb said. "He's well thought of. He was a very good mayor pro tem. He was strong. He could think. He did a lot of good in that strong-mayor issue.
"He said he's innocent, and I hope that he is. God, I hope that he is," he said. "If he's not, it'll turn your hair gray overnight."
Create A Screen Name
Screen names can only consist of letters and numbers.
Your screen name will appear to everyone.
NOTE: You cannot change, delete,
or edit your screen name once you hit "Save".
RSS
E-Mail newsletters
- Internet Explorer 7+
- FireFox 3+
- Safari
If you are using Internet Explorer 7, make sure Phishing Filter is turned off by going to Tools / Phishing Filter / Turn Off Automatic Website Checking. If you are using Internet Explorer 8, make sure InPrivate Filtering is turned off and InPrivate Filtering data has been cleared. To turn off InPrivate Filtering go to Tools / InPrivate Filtering Settings, select the "off" button and click "OK". To clear InPrivate Filtering dataYou must be logged in to contribute. Log in | Register Now!
You are logged in as screenname | Log Out
You are logged in, but do not have a "screen" name. Create a Screen Name