Former Houston ISD chief operating officer, vendor indicted in alleged bribery scheme

Houston ISD’s former chief operating officer and a vendor have been indicted in connection with an alleged bribery scheme that already has resulted in plea agreements with several former district officials, including former Board of Education President Rhonda Skillern-Jones, federal authorities announced Thursday. Authorities arrested former COO Brian Busby, 43, and contract vendor Anthony Hutchison, 60, both of Houston, on Thursday, according to the United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of Texas. They are expected to appear before a judge Thursday afternoon. “This investigation and resulting indictments reflect my office’s commitment to rooting out public corruption,” Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery said in a statement. “We will not stand idly by when there are people in positions of trust who are suspected of such wrongdoing.” According to the 26-count indictment, Busby is accused of helping award HISD construction and grounds maintenance contracts to Hutchison in return for cash bribes and hundreds of thousands of dollars in home remodeling.

“For most of his adult life, Brian Busby has been a loyal employee of HISD, rising from the lowest employment to chief operating officer,” said Dick DeGuerin, Busby’s lawyer. “He has never taken a penny from any contractors or any illegal money — ever. I am sure that a fair jury will find him innocent.” A lawyer representing Hutchison could not be immediately contacted. In addition to Skillern-Jones, four other former HISD employees whose jobs included oversight of district maintenance and facilities, have entered plea agreements with prosecutors related to the alleged bribery scheme, Lowery’s office said in a release. “HISD fully cooperated with the federal investigation into actions that allegedly took place from 2011 to 2020 which led to the charges that were made public today,” the district said in a statement. “As indicated in previous statements by HISD, from the time that HISD became aware of the federal investigation in February 2020, HISD provided information as requested by law enforcement with respect to the investigation. As that criminal investigation progressed, HISD also implemented additional internal procedures to safeguard against the type of conduct alleged in the charges announced today.”