Low-income housing developer Brian Potashnik appeared frustrated and confused Monday in the federal City Hall corruption trial as a trio of defense lawyers rattled the prosecution’s star witness while attacking his previous testimony. Near the end of a long day on the stand, he asked and answered his own question:…
The second full day of testimony from affordable housing developer Brian Potashnik strengthened the prosecution’s case against former city plan commissioner D’Angelo Lee in the City Hall corruption case, but federal prosecutor Marcus Busch concluded his direct examination of Potashnik Thursday without directly linking former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill…
A Dallas County security officer who worked at the Frank Crowley Courts Building was fired on Monday for a number of reasons, including being a morale-buster. But Charlotte Hardy insists the real reason she was fired was because she told higher-ups that officers at the Crowley are sleeping on the…
Back at the end of June, the U.S. Attorney’s Office sent word that it has arrested 25-year-old Jesse William McGraw — otherwise known as “GhostExodus,” founder and ostensibly the leader of the Electronik Tribulation Army — for threatening to cause serious damage to the computer systems at the Carrell Clinic…
Nearly all of the 16 jurors grabbed their notebooks and focused on Brian Potashnik as the prosecution Wednesday morning called the witness expected to provide the most damning evidence in the City Hall corruption case. But while Potashnik’s testimony raised concerns about the ethics of some of the five defendants,…
Below you’ll find the order from the Texas Court of Appeals concerning the fate of convicted killer Roderick Newton, who was scheduled to be executed tomorrow some time after 6 p.m. As you’ll see, the court has stayed that execution and ordered a new hearing — not only for the…
How much does the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office agree with defense attorneys that convicted murdered Roderick Newton had his rights violated during his 2000 trial? So much so that District Attorney Craig Watkins has agreed to a stay of execution in order to litigate the Brady violation involving the…
An admittedly nervous Steve Williams spent all of Tuesday afternoon on the stand discussing his eight-year tenure as Don Hill’s administrative assistant, pushing the anticipated debut of developer Brian Potashnik to this morning. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham paused his redirect examination of Williams as U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn…
Let’s get back to Kim’s item about Roderick Newton, scheduled to be executed by the state on Thursday, for just a minute. And let’s go ahead and set aside the issue of “mental retardation.” Instead, focus on the second of three claims Newton’s attorneys make in the writ filed today…
Ten years ago last March, “Roderick Newton and Julian Williams went to a car wash in Pleasant Grove in Dallas looking for someone to rob.” So reminds the Texas Attorney General’s media release issued last week, which recounts the reason Newton is scheduled to be executed by the state Thursday…
The hearing for once, twice, three-times-a-fired-Dallas cop Fernando Perez just wrapped — and Administrative Law Judge Willie Crowder upheld the termination. And thus ends the tale of Fernando Perez, who opted to hold the hearing behind closed doors when Unfair Park showed up at City Hall for a progress report…
A Friend of Unfair Park forwards along this Austin American-Statesman story from yesterday, in which two former Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents — one of them a former Dallas captain — warn that TABC Administrator Alan Steen ain’t much good when it comes to following through with apologies and investigations…
Was just taking a peek at tomorrow’s list of public meetings when I stumbled across this familiar name: Fernando Perez, on-and-off ex of the Dallas Police Department. Perez has a hearing scheduled at 9 a.m. tomorrow in front of Administrative Law Judge Willie Crowder, during which the officer, fired seven…
Over on the city of Dallas’s Web site you’ll find this warning: “Do you have an outstanding citation? If so, you could be arrested at your home or office.” Yup, must be the Summer Warrant Round-Up, yee-haw. And if you’re not sure whether Johnny Law’s hot on your trail, the…
Just today, the Dallas Police Department posted to its YouTube page — which, till about a month ago, hadn’t been updated in ages — a “training video for convenience store robbery prevention.” (The pre-title sequence, which continues at around the six-minute mark, is amazing.) Ironically, at about the same time…
Last summer, we took a peek at the Dallas Police Department’s murder stats and suggested you were best served by staying home between 6 p.m. and midnight on Wednesdays, the prime time for murder. As we just got our hands on the latest batch of stats — and already warned…
After the jump you’ll find dash-cam footage provided by Dallas County constables from the June 29 car chase through Dallas, Richardson and Garland, during which Shane Michel captivated a nation for a good 90 minutes. KDFW-Channel 4 got hold of the video and ran some highlights; one can only imagine…
Between June and August of 2008, the Dallas Police Department recorded 30 homicides — 17 fewer than in ’07, a stunning 33 fewer than in 2006. Even ABC News took note of the news, particularly the “astonishing low of eight homicides in July.” But last summer’s dip will, most likely,…
Mitchell Rasansky, who served with Don Hill on the Dallas City Council for six years and is listed as a potential witness in Hill’s ongoing federal corruption trial, says any direct ties between Hill and developer Brian Potashnik weren’t apparent to him because the majority of the city’s affordable housing…
First there was Bernie Madoff; then, Alan Stanford. Then came Minnesota’s Tom Petters, who, as The Wall Street Journal documented in April, was popped by federal authorities who claimed he operated a $3-billion Ponzi scheme built upon his taking investors’ hard-earned scratch to buy flat-screen TVs and other electronic whatchamacallits…
Earlier today, the Fort Worth Police Department sent out the following press release in response to Saturday night’s raid on the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth. In short, the FWPD’s temporarily breaking up with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission till both agencies figure out how the raid on the newly…
For the Fourth of July weekend, the Dallas Police Department is partnering with Dallas Fire-Rescue — they’re going to ride in patrol cars together — to strictly enforce the no-no’s listed above, especially the part about shooting stuff into the air. It’s the first time the two departments have gone…
