Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price (D) arrested and indicted

[TexasTowelie]

Longtime Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price and his top assistant were arrested Friday morning by the FBI on federal bribery conspiracy charges.

An indictment filed Wednesday and unsealed Friday morning lists the following charges against Price, who was taken into custody about 8 a.m. on his way to work:

-Conspiracy to commit bribery concerning a local government receiving federal benefits

-Deprivation of honest services by mail fraud and aiding and abetting

-Conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service

-Subscribing to a false and fraudulent U.S. individual income tax return

"The indictment unsealed today alleges that for more than a decade, in a shocking betrayal of public trust, Commissioner Price sold his office on the Dallas County Commissioners Court in exchange for a steady stream of bribes," U.S. Attorney Sarah Saldaña said.

Price, 64, is accused of masterminding a criminal conspiracy that helped powerful companies win lucrative county contracts in exchange for bribes and of illegally funneling campaign money into his personal accounts. Federal authorities also allege that Price illegally profited from transactions involving Dallas County and companies operated by some of his associates.

More at http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/local-politics/20140725-saldana-john-wiley-price-indictment-reveals-shocking-betrayal-of-public-trust.ece .

[Ishoutandscream2]

1. About time!

[CoolOnion]

2. Good.

Hopefully, this will shed light on the inland port deal, which has gotten no press except for Jim Schutze (Dallas Observer).

Price, who is closely allied with the Perots, has fought long and hard to slow down development of the inland port, even though it is the single biggest economic promise ever to visit his own territory and constituency. Several of his allies in that effort have been called before a federal grand jury. His own offices and home have been searched by the FBI. The feds also have subpoenaed the records of Hillwood...

...Price's best weapon in sabotaging the inland port was a call for additional planning studies. What's wrong with planning? Nothing, the first time you do it. The inland port's original developer, Richard Allen, had carried out five years of planning, signed off on by all of the local units of government. He was ready to start leasing and selling five years ago, before the economy tanked.

Price insisted on a do-over...

Throw the book at him, and replace him with someone who can actually bring some jobs to South Dallas.

[CoolOnion]

3. More about the inland port

What's Commish John Wiley Price's Real Beef With the Inland Port?