United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

ANOTHER GUILTY VERDICT IN DALLAS CITY HALL CORRUPTION CASE

DALLAS — Following a week-long trial and just over two hours of deliberation, a federal jury in Dallas has convicted Jibreel A. Rashad, a.k.a. Vernon Cooks, Jr., of conspiracy to commit extortion, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Rashad faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn on May 7, 2010.

In the largest corruption case that Dallas has ever seen, Rashad, and 13 public officials and their associates, were charged in a 31-count indictment in October 2007 with various offenses related to a bribery and extortion scheme involving affordable housing developments in the Dallas area. All but one of the defendants in that case have been convicted; a trial date has not been set for defendant Ronald W. Slovacek. Five defendants, including former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill, were convicted at trial in October 2009 and are scheduled to be sentenced later this month.

During Rashad’s trial, the government presented evidence that Rashad participated in a conspiracy with co-defendants, Don Hill and his Plan Commissioner D’Angelo Lee, to extort thousands of dollars from James R. “Bill” Fisher, a low-income housing developer and FBI informant.

In late 2004, Rashad, Lee and co-defendant Rickey Robertson, a car dealer, partnered to form RA-MILL, a sham development company. Lee’s interest in RA-MILL was hidden. Rashad and Robertson pressured Fisher to hire RA-MILL for construction contracts, even though they were unqualified. They made extortionate demands on Fisher for cash payments and construction contracts on Fisher’s affordable housing projects. When Fisher didn’t meet their extortion demands to their satisfaction, Hill and Lee, using their official positions, caused the City Council and the City Plan and Zoning Commission to postpone consideration of the developer’s zoning change application for a proposed tax credit project located in District 5.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and IRS-CI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chad Meacham, Steven Fahey, Sarah Saldaña, Chris Stokes, and Leigha Simonton are prosecuting.

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