Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, Democrat, once demanded an apology because a fellow commissioner used the scientific term “black hole.”
Today Price finds himself in a hole of an entirely different kind, jail, with the probability of heading to federal prison.
The loudmouth commissioner who answers just about every inquiry into his outrageous conduct with versions of “That’s racist!” was taken into custody by the FBI early this morning. Charges will be announced today.
WFAA TV in Dallas reports that Price’s arrest means that the federal grand jury that has been investigating him for years has completed its work, handed down indictments and now the commissioner will stand trial. Other defendants are being arrested around Dallas today, ahead of the 11 AM news conference the FBI has called.
Price has been under FBI investigation since 2011, on myriad corruption charges. The FBI searched his home that year, and turned up $229,000 in cash and expensive watches. One bag of cash that was allegedly found in Price’s home was full of $100 bills, and marked “cheerleaders.” Let’s hope the FBI tells us what that was about.
Price has been in office since 1984, becoming one of the most powerful politicians in north Texas over the years.
2011 was an auspicious year for Commissioner Price. That’s the year that the FBI started taking a close look at him, and it’s also the year that he told constituents to “all of you are white, go to hell.” He also called one constituent a “fat boy.”
“Go to hell”? How about “go to jail”…
Update: The Dallas Morning News sheds some light on the charges Price faces.
Conspiracy to Commit Bribery Concerning a Local Government Receiving Federal Benefits
Deprivation of Honest Services by Mail Fraud and Aiding and Abetting
Conspiracy to Defraud the Internal Revenue Service
Subscribing to a False and Fraudulent U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
Hm, tax fraud. Perhaps Price will be the first to try claiming that his hard drive crashed on the IRS. And then shout “That’s racist!” when the IRS doesn’t buy its own excuse.
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