FBI agents search offices of Hill, Fantroy (Dallas City Council Members)

[rainbow4321]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/062105dnmetwarrants.2bd4e80b.html

FBI agents executed search warrants this afternoon at the offices of Dallas City Council Members Don Hill and James Fantroy. Agents also searched Mr. Hill’s home.

Information was sketchy but reporters saw agents accompanied by Dallas police officers searching Mr. Hill’s office at Dallas City Hall

Agents also served warrants at Burt Barr & Associates, the law firm where Mr. Hill works. A receptionist confirmed that the law office was closed Monday afternoon while agents executed the search warrants.


Paul Coggins, a former U.S. attorney in Dallas, described the actions as highly unusual. He said executing a search warrant, as opposed to merely issuing a subpoena for records, means that federal authorities are “worried about the loss of records.”

[crispini]

1. Oh, this is bad.

We REALLY don't need this. :(

[rainbow4321]

3. Emails pulled, Southwest Housing searched, City Plan Commission car...

Searches widened, and continuing today.



http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/062105dnmethill.2bd4e80b.html


City Manager Mary Suhm said federal agents also pulled e-mails related to Mr. Hill from the city's computer information services department Monday afternoon. She said that no FBI officials had contacted her Monday and that she knows of no other city offices that had been searched.

Also searched by agents Monday was an automobile – parked in a City Hall lot – belonging to D'Angelo Lee, appointed by Mr. Hill to the City Plan Commission in 2003. He said he didn't know why agents had searched his car.

Southwest Housing Development is owned by Brian Potashnik, a prominent Dallas developer who specializes in low-income housing, particularly in the southern sector. According to the company's Web site, it owns more than 9,000 units in Texas and Colorado.

Mr. Potashnik's housing company is under criminal investigation in Garland over allegations that executives forged a city letter to obtain $3.9 million in funding from Wachovia Securities. Mr. Potashnik, who could not be reached for comment, is an acquaintance of Ms. Miller and has contributed thousands of dollars to her political campaigns. He also has made campaign contributions to Mr. Hill.

[jburton]

2. Well, THIS should be fun, or something

I'll wait for next week's Observer to find out the real poop.

The Dallas Morning News is usually the last to know what is going on in city hall news. The DMN will look for a way to slime Medrano in all of this even though she was just elected last week.

Or maybe the hard hitting journalist Jaqueline Floyd will clue us in if she isn't too busy covering the Plano White Bread Festivial.

/end DMN rant