The former Houston city manager at the center of a contract corruption scandal exposed by KPRC 2′s Amy Davis is facing a new felony charge in the case.
Patrece Lee is now charged with engaging in organized criminal activity. She was already in jail on $460,000 bond charges, including abuse of official capacity and four counts of bribery. Her bond has not been set on the new charge, as of Tuesday night.
A grand jury indicted Lee in May following a report in our ongoing ‘DRAINED’ investigation. In that investigation, KPRC 2 revealed Lee allegedly used her position as head of the Houston Water Department to direct city water contracts to her family and friends without proper bidding or background checks.
Six other people have also been charged for their roles in the scandal, including Lee’s brother, Andrew Thomas.
According to court documents, prosecutors allege that Lee used money illegally as part of a conspiracy with her brother and Danielle Hurts, who prosecutors described as Patrece Lee’s personal collection agent.
Ed McClees, former chief of the organized crime section at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, explained the new charge.
“There has to be underlying crimes that they are alleging. And essentially what the law says is you take these underlying crimes, crimes being plural, not just one of them, but it is a group that is working together to do certain crimes,” he said. “It kind of ups the ante. It bumps you up a degree in punishment, so a case that may have been a second degree becomes a first degree, you know, why do degrees matter? They matter because that is what dictates the punishment range.”
Based on his analysis of the new court paperwork obtained by KPRC 2 late Tuesday, Lee will now face 15 years up to life in prison without the possibility of probation if found guilty, which is an increase from what she would have faced.
“Prosecutors and police officers like to see engaging in organized criminal activity cases because it widens or it expands the available punishment. And from a prosecution standpoint, in some cases, it can widen the net of evidence that becomes admissible at trial,” McClees said.
As for the timing of the new charge being tacked on, he said it may be because prosecutors got new information, or they are trying to punish what’s alleged more aggressively, or sometimes it’s a strategic decision to influence a bond if they believe a judge may be inclined to lower it.
Lee has a hearing scheduled for Thursday when bond reduction could be discussed. Her attorney has not responded to KPRC 2′s request for comment on this latest development.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office has not provided additional details on the new charge, but a spokesperson said as of Tuesday evening, no additional defendants have been named.