Posted on 12/08/2004 4:07:32 PM PST by weegee
Mayor Bill White spoke Wednesday about city integrity following the bribery indictment of a one-time aide to former Mayor Lee Brown.
Oliver Spellman, who until last Friday also worked as a top aide to County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia, has been charged with criminal conspiracy to obtain bribes as a public official.
It stems from allegations he helped a consultant in Cleveland, Ohio win City of Houston contracts.
Mayor White says all contracts handled by Spellman are under review, and corruption will not be tolerated.
"I've said in public microphones for two years, public contracting should be clean and transparent, no patriotism system, no tolerance of this conduct," said Mayor White.
If convicted, Spellman faces 20 years in prison.
And just two years ago, Spellman resigned abruptly as Mayor Brown's chief of staff, citing personal reasons after only 10 months on the job.
I assume Mayor White said "patronage system" even though I did not hear him. KHOU, a CBS affiliate has terrible news.
Hmmm. Sounds like your standard CYA press release. Mayor White's hand must have been in the cookie jar too.
I like Bill White. He has been a good Mayor so far. Then again I am comparing him to Brown who was a complete crooked idiot.
White fought the property tax relief proposal and put a counter measure on the ballot. When both passed he claimed that his would be the one implemented.
He claimed that he got the downtown traffic lights synchronized but that is still far from the case.
He's a lot of talk but still a Clinton appointed Democrat.
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