At the request of Mayor Annise Parker in March, The Harris County District Attorney’s office launched an investigation into allegations that METRO officials illegally destroyed public documents.
The allegations were first raised in a lawsuit filed by Houston attorney Lloyd Kelley. He accused METRO officials of shredding documents that he asked for in an open records request.
The controversy surrounding the lawsuit, led to the termination of METRO general counsel Pauline Higgins and eventually the resignation of METRO President Frank Wilson.
Today, Tuesday, July 27, the DA’s office has issued a statement saying that it found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. (statement from DA’s office)
The Public Integrity Division of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office completed its investigation into allegations that employees of METRO were destroying public documents and failing to comply with open records requests in violation of the Texas Public Information Act. From early March to the end of June, 2010, evidence was examined and witness testimony was developed, some with grand jury assistance. A careful analysis of all of this information led to the determination that there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by employees of METRO concerning the Texas Public Information Act, nor was there any evidence that any METRO employee had knowledge of the destruction of public records. The investigation has been closed.
Mary Benton Media 