Mayor Leppert Offers No Comment to Mention in Defenbaugh Report on Constable Cortes

After a cursory glance at former FBI agent Danny Defenbaugh's 92-page report released Monday afternoon at a press conference held by Dallas County Judge Jim Foster, we e-mailed Chris Heinbaugh, Mayor Tom Leppert's chief of staff, for a comment regarding the following: JCCW2761 reported that in early May 2008, he...

By Sam Merten

February 17, 2010

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After a cursory glance at former FBI agent Danny Defenbaugh's 92-page report released Monday afternoon at a press conference held by Dallas County Judge Jim Foster, we e-mailed Chris Heinbaugh, Mayor Tom Leppert's chief of staff, for a comment regarding the following:

JCCW2761 reported that in early May 2008, he personally observed several Precinct 5 deputies placing campaign signs for Constable Cortes in County vehicles. JCCW2761 also advised that the City of Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert observed this activity with him.

Heinbaugh responded that he hadn't seen the report, prompting us to send over a link, along with the page where the above passage could be found. However, yesterday came and went without a response to the two sentences. So, of course, we touched base with Heinbaugh this morning to find out if the mayor would deny the allegation or explain himself. He chose to do neither.

"We are not going to have any comment," Heinbaugh responded.

Now, if it weren't true, you might suppose Heinbaugh would have sent us an emphatic denial, but why would Leppert sit back idly as deputy constables used county vehicles for campaign purposes? We'll leave that for you to decide, but we've got our own theory.

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