Turner denied any wrongdoing and said he was not initially aware of Barnes’ involvement in the project. Turner has not worked with the firm since taking office in 2015. Listed as developer and principal of that company are the mayor’s former law partner Barry Barnes, and a partner at Barnes' firm, Jermaine Thomas. State documents show a company named Harbor Venture Group attached to the project.
"Out of fairness to all involved, we neither confirm nor deny potential investigations into any matter until and if a charge is filed," said Dane Schiller, spokesman for the Harris County District Attorney's Office. The Harris County DA’s Office would not confirm the investigation on Tuesday. “I'm being forced to participate in a charade that this was a competitive process when I know it was not a competitive process,” McCasland said during a city council housing committee meeting last month.
Turner’s choice - the Huntington at Bay Area project, which was allocated $15 million - would only provide 88 affordable units, while housing officials recommended four projects to create 362 affordable units at $16.2 million, according to McCasland. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office is investigating allegations made by the city's former housing director that Mayor Sylvester Turner steered millions of dollars in federal Hurricane Harvey relief funds to a favored developer, according to a report from the Houston Chronicle.Īccording to the Houston Chronicle, the DA’s office has requested information related to the deal, which former Housing Director Tom McCasland accused Turner of influencing by steering the final decision towards a project that would provide 274 fewer affordable units than other projects recommended by city housing officials at four times the cost per unit. This file photo shows Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg during a news conference held in Houston in April 2019.
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