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DALLAS COUNTY -
The Dallas City Hall corruption trial got even more heated today when prosecutors suggested former City Councilman Don Hill had good reason to bribe or extort hundreds of thousands of dollars in the biggest public corruption case in Dallas history.
Hill's mistress-turned-wife, Sheila Farrington Hill, his former city planning commissioner, D'Angelo Lee, and others are accused of conspiring a scheme that involved bribes from developer Brian Potashnik in exchange for Hill's vote for housing developments.
Much of the trial centers on a $14,000-a-month contract that Potashnik said he was pressured into signing with Farrington.
The defense says Farrington and Lee did legitimate consulting work for Potashnik and split the money; the government says Lee's name is nowhere to be found, and the former councilman actually had a hand in the money.
Today, the prosecution asked Hill about his financial troubles, including tax problems and his water being turned off because he didn't pay his water bill.
Prosecutor Marcus Busch asked, "So your wife Vivian is at home with no water while Sheila is negotiating more than $200,000 worth of contracts with people with pending matters before you on city council?"
Hill replied, "I didn't know the amount of the contract."
Clint David, an independent attorney who has been following the trial, says the prosecution had strong day.
"They're trying to show that he was in desperate financial straights during this time when all this money was flowing into Sheila Farrington's account," he said, "and that was his motive in this so-called shakedown because honestly, he needed the money."
Hill is expected back on the stand next week. He is expected to be re-examined by his attorney.
Hill's mistress-turned-wife, Sheila Farrington Hill, his former city planning commissioner, D'Angelo Lee, and others are accused of conspiring a scheme that involved bribes from developer Brian Potashnik in exchange for Hill's vote for housing developments.
Much of the trial centers on a $14,000-a-month contract that Potashnik said he was pressured into signing with Farrington.
The defense says Farrington and Lee did legitimate consulting work for Potashnik and split the money; the government says Lee's name is nowhere to be found, and the former councilman actually had a hand in the money.
Today, the prosecution asked Hill about his financial troubles, including tax problems and his water being turned off because he didn't pay his water bill.
Prosecutor Marcus Busch asked, "So your wife Vivian is at home with no water while Sheila is negotiating more than $200,000 worth of contracts with people with pending matters before you on city council?"
Hill replied, "I didn't know the amount of the contract."
Clint David, an independent attorney who has been following the trial, says the prosecution had strong day.
"They're trying to show that he was in desperate financial straights during this time when all this money was flowing into Sheila Farrington's account," he said, "and that was his motive in this so-called shakedown because honestly, he needed the money."
Hill is expected back on the stand next week. He is expected to be re-examined by his attorney.
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