Lynn Walsh

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Houston school where 3 kids were grazed by bullet is highly rated by state
Tuesday, Apr 19, 2011, 01:40PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

The elementary school northeast of downtown Houston where three kindergarteners were injured when a loaded gun went off in the school cafeteria is top-rated by the state for its academics.

The students, two 6-year-old boys and a 5-year-old girl, at Ross Elementary School in the Houston Independent School District were taken to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries, district spokesman Jason Spencer said in an e-mail Tuesday. The gun had been brought to school by one of the 6-year-old boys, the school system said.

The elementary school, located just beside the Eastex Freeway/U.S. 59, between the Northside Village and Kashmere Gardens neighborhoods of Houston, is rated “exemplary,” the highest academic rating given by the Texas Education Agency.

(continue reading…)

An investigation for Texas Watchdog:

Former principal of Houston ISD’s Yates High, Ronald Mumphery, will not face criminal charges: HISD
Monday, Jan 10, 2011, 02:32PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

The former principal of one of the city’s major high schools will not face criminal charges over allegations that he harassed female employees and once stuck his tongue into the ear of a school cheerleader during an alleged sexual advance, the Houston school district said.

Ronald Mumphery, the former head of Yates High School, will not be prosecuted after the Houston Independent School District’s own police department “found there was not sufficient evidence to support any criminal charges,” HISD spokesman Norm Uhl said.

Uhl said no report has been created on HISD Police’s findings in the case, though one may be written later.

In an e-mailed response to other questions posed by Texas Watchdog, Uhl suggested the news organization file a public information request.

Among the remaining questions is whether HISD police consulted with the Harris County district attorney’s office about Mumphrey.

By policy, DA Pat Lykos’ office does not discuss whether it is investigating a case or whether a case has been forwarded to it for potential prosecution. “We do not confirm or deny whether we are investigating a case until a case gets filed,” Terese Buess, with the DA’s office, said Monday.

A 30-year veteran of the district, Mumphery was reassigned by the district in late September. At that time, HISD said Mumphery had been accused of unspecified “professional misconduct,” without elaborating. He filed paperwork with the school system a few days later to retire.

The allegations against Mumphery date back to the early 1980’s and include allegations of staff members exchanging sexual favors for preferential treatment and overtime pay from the principal and allegations that Mumphery grabbed and sexually touched a 17-year-old cheerleader and student back in 1984.

The sexual harassment allegations were outlined in an HISD investigation report and include multiple witnesses and alleged victims’ testimonies.

There was no answer at Mumphrey’s home telephone listing earlier today.

Mumphery had previously served as principal at Houston’s Cullen Middle School and an assistant principal at Jones High. He earned more than $109,000 during the 2009-10 school year, according to an HISD salary database.

The allegations against Mumphery came to light, records show, after Houston school Superintendent Terry Grier received an anonymous letter in mid-September.

HISD began to investigate, reaching out to numerous former students and employees, including a current HISD employee who said she was accosted by Mumphrey when she was a student of his 16 years ago.

The woman told investigators she was a cheerleader at Yates at the time, and the report says Mumphrey was a teacher and coach there.

According to the report:

In an interview with the school district, the former cheerleader detailed the incident that occurred back in 1984: “She alleged that as soon as she came in the room he started talking sexually to her. She said she was shocked and about to leave when he grabbed her arm, pulled her to him and stuck his tongue in her ear.”

The former cheerleader said she immediately ran out of his office to the principal at the time. According to the report, Mumphery allegedly ran after the young woman, telling her to stop, but she kept running. (To read the full report and details about the other allegations. click here.)

Have questions about the Mumphery investigation or other HISD issues? Texas Watchdog wants to hear from you. Contact Lynn Walsh, Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter @LWalsh.

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A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Five years after scandal prompted funding freeze, E-Rate money returns to Houston ISD
Tuesday, Dec 07, 2010, 04:46PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

For the first time since news broke of employees accepting gifts, meals and cash from vendors, the Houston public school system is once again receiving money from the federal computers-in-schools program at the center of the controversy.

The Houston Independent School District is set to receive $1.3 million from the E-Rate program for basic technology maintenance at more than 200 of the district’s roughly 300 schools.

“This is just the tip of iceberg,” said Richard Patton, the HISD official tasked with making sure vendors and school system employees keep on E-Rate’s straight and narrow. “It’s a really good sign.”

The school system, the nation’s seventh-largest, applied for almost $70 million in E-Rate funding earlier this year. E-Rate is brings cut-rate telecommunications services to public schools, nonprofit private schools and libraries.

HISD employees were accused of accepting meals, sporting tickets and cash from E-Rate vendors — a violation of the tenets of the federally funded program.

Those cozy relationships with E-Rate vendors cost HISD $105 million in federal funding. HISD was required to hire Patton, pay an $850,000 settlement and agree to strengthen its district ethics and disclosure policies. It also saw its E-Rate funding frozen in 2006, a freeze that has apparently now thawed.

The money can cover maintenance of power suppliers, servers and switches, Patton said. “We were approved at the 90 percent level, which means the district pays 10 percent of the cost” and the federal program picks up the rest, he said.

The contractor approved to receive all of the money from the projects is Netsync Network Solutions, a Houston-based IT company.

Netsync is the same company HISD trustees recently hired to upgrade the district’s computer system. HISD has given more than $17.9 million to Netsync this year, according to the school system’s online check registry.

The computer upgrade and increased security is expected to cost the district up to $15 million and was triggered by a hacker accessing personal information of HISD employees and students in October. HISD did not put the Netsync security contract up for competitive bids due to time constraints and vulnerability of the current system, HISD Superintendent Terry Grier said.

Have questions or comments on HISD’s E-Rate program? Texas Watchdog wants to hear from you. Contact Lynn Walsh, Lynn@Texaswatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter @LWalsh.

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

HISD: Vendors can still give computers to schools as gifts despite gift-giving ban enacted in the wake of scandal

Monday, Nov 15, 2010, 03:44PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

School districts across the country are still able to accept technology gifts from computer companies despite gift-giving bans enacted in the wake of scandals in the Houston and Dallas school systems, documents show.
Just last week the federal government reached a $16.25 million settlement with Hewlett-Packard for violating the bidding process in the Houston and Dallas independent school districts as part of the federal computers-in-schools program E-Rate.

As part of the settlement HP signed an agreement that limits what kind of gifts and marketing materials employees of the computer giant can give to school districts — but it does not ban them from giving.

According to the agreement:

“HP and its employees may continue to provide gifts of equipment to section 501(c)(3) organizations and accredited educational institutions under HP’s Global Contributions Policy…HP may continue its various HP in Education grants initiatives pursuant to its
Global Social Innovation Policy…”

Would HP be able to donate a computer to HISD? The district’s E-Rate compliance officer, Richard Patton, said that is a difficult question to answer.

“My gut reaction is no,” he said. “But you can’t take one situation and apply it to all situations. Each has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. I would shy away from a computer donation from HP because they are an E-Rate vendor.”

HP wasn’t the only vendor involved in the federal investigation into HISD’s E-Rate program. The school district wound up paying an $850,000 settlement, agreeing to hire someone solely to monitor ethics in the E-Rate purchasing system, and agreeing to a more strict gift-giving policy for employees and school district trustees.

In exchange for being able to donate, HP must provide documentation to the Federal Communications Commission of gifts worth $10,000 or more if the school district participates in E-Rate, according to the agreement. The gifts can also not be “made in a manner that would be, or create the appearance of being, a bribe, a kickback or other corrupt practice.”

According to the memorandum report in the HISD investigation, HP offered HISD employees $1,000 tickets to technology forums, a free computer and printer and possibly a trip to Las Vegas for a conference.

Because of HISD’s history with HP and other E-Rate technology vendors, Patton said he has asked that all donations, including scholarships and grants, from technology companies go through his office, “even if it directly benefits our educational mission and has nothing on the surface to do with E-Rate.”

HP is not the only technology company that is allowed to give gifts to school districts.

According to a presentation at a recent conference Patton attended on behalf of HISD:

“Gift rules are not intended to discourage companies from making charitable contributions to schools, as long as those contributions are NOT directly or indirectly related to an E-Rate related procurement.

Now that it is clear HISD is able to accept technology gifts, Patton said his office “will allow the District to steer clear of improprieties and the appearance of such. We will do what is right.”

Do you think HP and other technology vendors should be allowed to make donations to school districts if they are E-Rate vendors? Texas Watchdog wants to hear what you think. Contact Lynn Walsh at Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org or on Twitter @LWalsh.

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Hewlett-Packard to pay $16M+ as more problems come out in HISD, DISD E-Rate program
Thursday, Nov 11, 2010, 05:28PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

A major computer company with strong local ties is being forced to pay more than $16 million to the federal government and people in Houston and Dallas in the aftermath of allegations of fraud in a federal program supplying computers to the Houston and Dallas school districts.
According to the settlement, five people, all from Texas, sued Hewlett-Packard for violating the bidding processes associated with the E-Rate technology program.

“…during the period from 2002 to 2005 in the Dallas and Houston Independent School Districts: (1) conspiring to rig the competitive bidding of E-Rate contracts; (2) subverting the competitive bidding processes for E-Rate contracts through the provision of gratuities, including meals, trips, and tickets, to school district representatives in violation of school district policies or rules and E-Rate Program rules; and (3) unjust enrichment from E-Rate contracts received as a result of violations of the competitive bidding processes.”

HP is based in California but has a substantial presence in Houston. It bought out Houston-based rival Compaq a few years ago.

HISD’s E-rate compliance officer, Richard Patton, told Texas Watchdog he had not been aware of the interaction between HP and the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission.

“I can tell you this, I was not aware of this … All of those things do not run through my office, either,” Patton said. “The Secret Service or the FBI may have spoken with the parties at the time, but it was a complete surprise to me.”

Patton was hired by HISD in February of this year. The district had been forced to agree to hire someone to look over its E-Rate contracting processes.

David Galbraith, a lawyer for HISD, said he was aware of the suits against HP but said HISD was not involved with them. “We did not get into any of that. We knew the suit was going on, and the suit did hold up our settlement a little, but we were not a party to the case.”

The latest settlements are a part of a string of investigations and lawsuits related to the E-Rate programs at both HISD and DISD, two of the state’s largest school districts.

HISD was forced to pay $850,000 to settle a suit earlier this year after allegations of E-Rate vendors giving gifts, sporting tickets and meals to district employees, including the HISD superintendent at the time, Abelardo Saavedra.

The investigations in Dallas led to prison sentences for a former DISD employee, Ruben Bohuchot, and a former DISD and HISD E-Rate vendor, Frankie Wong. The two men had been charged with bribery and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Appeals were denied this week for both men, the Chronicle reported.

In the HISD investigation, allegations against HP and other E-Rate vendors were outlined in a memorandum provided to the federal government by the school district. The allegations against HP in the memorandum include:

* In August 2006, Hewlett-Packard offered HISD two complimentary passes, worth more than $1,000 each, to the 2006 HP Technology Forum, which was held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.District employees Mark Landrum and Carl Bradley attended the event.

* In April 2005 HP sent a computer and printer to HISD technology employees Ken Eaton and Wayne Franklin as a “thank you” for serving on a panel. The computers were supposed to be donated to an HISD school but remained at the school district’s west region office. Franklin is no longer employed at HISD, a district spokesman said.

* HISD documents show that “an unidentified district employee” registered for a conference in May 2005 atMandalay Bay Resort and Casino, the memo says. But HISD is “unable to confirm” that Steve Kim, HISD’s networking manager at the time, “accepted a trip to Las Vegas from HP on any of these dates,” the memo says.

According to the most recent lawsuit settlement with HP, the computer company will pay $16.25 million to the federal government. More than $7.4 million is associated with allegations in DISD and more than $8.8 million for the allegations associated with HISD. HP will also have to pay more than $200,000 in attorney fees, according to the settlement.

Once the federal government receives the money, it will give more than $1.4 million to plaintiffs Dan Cain and Pam Tingley and close to $800,000 to Dave Richardson, Dave Gillis and Barry Clauss, according to the settlement. In the documents, all five of the individuals are listed as being associated with real estate companies, Cain Realtors and Richardson Realtors.

HP is currently on the approved vendor list for HISD, Patton said, and it most likely will stay on.

“We do not do a lot of direct business with HP. We will analyze that (whether HP should remain on the list) but I do not think it would be smart to remove a solid vendor like that. It could potentially be very costly to change midstream.”

According to Patton, HISD primarily buys HP equipment through resellers and does not do a lot of direct buying from the company. An HISD contract database obtained by Texas Watchdog shows payments HP receiving close to $20,000 in payments from HISD from 2005 to 2009. Hewlett-Packard banned ACS and Micro Systems Engineering, two HISD E-rate vendors accused of providing sporting tickets and other gifts to HISD employees, from selling its equipment in late 2006, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Patton said the only way HP would be removed from the district’s vendor list were if the federal government specifically asked the district to do so. He also said HISD will review the compliance and settlement agreements HP signed with the federal government but does not think they will have an impact on HISD.

“I don’t think the district will be at a loss as a result of this agreement. We were not a part of the investigation,” he said. “Prior to our settlement agreement we had gaps and holes but we have closed those.”

Cain, from Dallas, spoke for the first time about the lawsuit in a recent story in the Dallas Observer. According to the story, Cain, a Realtor, did not work for DISD but his cousin, Chuck Spivey, did, serving as a district assistant superintendent and chief technology officer.

“One day in the fall of 2002, Bohuchot told Spivey that he and some dude from Houston named Frankie Wong were going in on a big ol’ boat together — a 46-foot Post Yacht dubbed the Sir Veza. It was worth more than $300,000. Spivey knew just the perfect folks to work that sucker: His cousin Pam — Danny Cain’s sister — and her husband, Dan Tingley. Dan would captain; Pam would serve as first mate — hostess, in other words…”

According to the story, Cain soon began receiving mail at his house from Coast Guard about the yacht and other pieces of mail that were addressed to Wong and Bohuchot.

“…he was furious: ‘Here were all these people stealing money from school kids — and they were using my house for an illegal enterprise,’ he says. ‘I didn’t care if it was my brother-in-law and sister.’”

Wong was sentenced to 10 years in prison, Bohuctot received 11 years. According to an article in the Houston Chronicle, both were denied appeals Tuesday in a New Orleans-based federal court.

Contact Lynn Walsh at Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter @LWalsh. You can also follow her at @TexasWatchdog.

A story featured on 39 News Houston:

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Former Yates High Principal Ronald Mumphery accused of sexual harassment, HISD records show
Friday, Nov 05, 2010, 08:44PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

A former principal of one of Houston’s largest public high schools is currently under investigation for multiple allegations of sexual misconduct with former employees and a former student, records show.

The allegations against Ronald Mumphery, former prinicipal of Yates High School, date back to the early 1980’s and include allegations of staff members exchanging sexual favors for preferential treatment and overtime pay from the principal and allegations that Mumphery grabbed and sexually touched a 17-year-old cheerleader and student back in 1984.

Multiple witnesses and alleged victims’ testimonies are outlined in a Houston Independent School District investigation report made public to Texas Watchdog Friday. The district reassigned Mumphery in late September, saying publicly only that Mumphery had been accused of unspecified “professional misconduct,” without elaborating. He filed paperwork with the school system a few days later to retire.

A 30-year veteran of the Houston schools, Mumphery, reached by telephone Friday afternoon, said the accusations were news to him. “I don’t know anything about that and nothing like that ever happened,” he said, but said he does have a lawyer.

The news in September that Mumphery had been reassigned made headlines across the city. He had taken the helm in 2008 at Yates, one of the city’s most historic schools, and one whose history is closely intertwined with that of the surrounding Third Ward.

Mumphery has previously served as principal at Houston’s Cullen Middle School and an assistant principal at Jones High. He earned more than $109,000 last year, according to an HISD salary database.

The allegations came to light, records show, after Houston school Superintendent Terry Grier received an anonymous letter in mid-September alleging sexual misconduct by the former principal.

HISD investigators then reached out to numerous former students and employees of Mumphery, including a current HISD employee who said she was accosted by Mumphrey when she was a student of his 16 years ago.

The women told investigators she was a cheerleader at Yates at the time, and the report says Mumphrey was a teacher and coach there.

In the report, the former cheerleader said Mumphery called her into his office after school one day.She said she “thought nothing of it” because Mumphery was her coach, and she worked as an office worker so “she trusted Mr. Mumphery.”

In an interview with the school district, the former cheerleader detailed the incident that occurred back in 1984:

“She alleged that as soon as she came in the room he started talking sexually to her. She said she was shocked and about to leave when he grabbed her arm, pulled her to him and stuck his tongue in her ear.”

The former cheerleader said she immediately ran out of his office to the principal at the time, Osby Mitchell. According to the report, Mumphery allegedly ran after the young woman, telling her to stop, but she kept running.

“Someone is out to smear me, I have never heard of that report, and I have never heard those allegations,” Mumphery said in an interview with Texas Watchdog Friday afternoon.

He said he is not sure why someone is out to smear him: “I can’t answer that and I really don’t want to talk anymore and I don’t know anything about it. Wow.”

The former cheerleader told school authorities she told Mitchell what had happened and asked him to call her parents; the young woman said her parents were “very upset,” but said she as unsure whether Mumphery was punished by the school system over her accusations.

“She stated she does not know exactly what Mr. Mitchell did to Mr. Mumphery but she thinks her father confronted Mr. Mumphery and told him to leave her alone because he never approached her again.”

There was no mention of the former cheerleader’s allegations in Mumphery’s personnel file when Texas Watchdog reviewed it recently.

“I don’t know anything about it and have never even heard about it,” Mumphery told Texas Watchdog. “I have no response and don’t know anything about it.”

When asked if the allegations were true, Mumphery said, “I have no comment.”

Even though it happened more than 20 years ago, the woman told HISD “it still haunts her every day.”

HISD investigators also spoke with a former district employee who worked with Mumphery while he was a principal at Cullen Middle. According to the report, the woman said Mumphery “was extremely flirtatious with her but she rebuffed his advances.”

The woman said after she refused Mumphery’s advances she was reassigned to another school because Mumphery “did not want her on his team.”

Other allegations against Mumphery in the report include:

+ A former Yates employee who said she was sexually harassed by Mumphery and was forced to relocate because “she could not take it anymore.”

+ Allegations from a former HISD employee that school workers earned overtime pay for being “good” and attending “late dinners with Mumphery.”

+ A former employee who worked for Mumphery who said, “they had a name for all of us that came from Cullen with him. We were all women you know, they called us ‘Mumphery’s girls.’” When the woman was asked whether she had ever had sex with Mumphery, she said, “I did everything but have sex with that man.”

+ A former employee at Cullen who said she complained about Mumphery’s behavior but was told “they could not do anything to him because it was her word against his since there were no witnesses.”

The internal HISD investigation found some of the interviews with alleged victims and witnesses to be credible, the report shows.

According to the investigation report, HISD found the former cheerleader’s allegations to be “highly credible” and that the woman “had no motive for lying.” Several other interviews in the report were also found to be credible.

Despite finding the interviews with alleged victims and witnesses to be credible, HISD “found no evidence that Mr. Mumphery was currently engaging in inappropriate conduct with students at Yates High School.”

The report continues to say:

“It is more likely than not that Mr. Mumphery established a pattern of engaging in inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature with subordinates … there were two additional complaints by subordinates during his employment at HISD.”

One of the formal complaints against Mumphery was made in October 2000, according to documents obtained by Texas Watchdog through the state public information law.

A teacher at Jones High School, where Mumphery was assistant principal at the time, accused Mumphery of sexual harassment in late September 2000, the document says. The investigation found “no evidence to substantiate” the charges, but the school’s principal at the time asked Mumphery to write a letter of apology to the woman and be careful of his actions around employees in the future.

In the letter of apology, Mumphery said:

“It is always my intent to serve the students and staff at Jones High School in a professional manner and always within the policies of the Houston Independent School District. At no time will you or any other staff member be addressed in an unprofessional manner. I apologize for any embarrassment that you perceived that I have caused you. You will always be addressed in a professional manner.”

The other complaint, which was referenced in the investigation report made public Friday, was described only as being filed in 2003 by someone who witnessed the undescribed event. A copy of this report did not turn up when Texas Watchdog reviewed Mumphery’s personnel file.

The report “confirmed that Mr. Mumphery engaged in unacceptable conduct of a sexual nature with student … when she was 17 and a senior at Yates High School in 1984.”

According to an HISD lawyer, the police department for the school district is currently investigating the allegations against Mumphery.

Contact Lynn Walsh at lynn@texaswatchdog.org or 713-228-2850 or on Twitter at @lwalsh.

An story written for Texas Watchdog:

Former Yates High School principal resigned after being accused of multiple acts of sexual misconduct, HISD records show
Friday, Nov 05, 2010, 05:07PM CST

By Lynn Walsh

The former principal of Houston’s Yates High School resigned after being accused of multiple acts of sexual misconduct with teachers and other Houston school district employees and one former student, some of which date back to the early 1980s, school system records show.

Ronald Mumphery quit his post a few days after his reassignment by the Houston Independent School District in late September, after more allegations against him emerged, according to HISD records released to Texas Watchdog under the state public records law.

It was not clear this afternoon whether Mumphery resigned or retired, as the document uses both terms.

“I have never heard of this. I don’t know anything about that, and nothing like that ever happened,” Mumphery said in an interview with Texas Watchdog this afternoon. “Someone is out to smear me, I have never heard of that report, and I have never heard those allegations.”

Mumphery said he is not sure why someone is out to smear him, adding, “I can’t answer that, and I really don’t want to talk anymore, and I don’t know anything about it. Wow.”

The allegations against him include sexually assaulting a female Yates High School cheerleader who was 17 at the time, and awarding overtime pay and providing preferential treatment to other HISD employees in exchange for sexual favors, according to a report from an internal investigation by the school district.

The report details first-hand accounts from the former Yates cheerleader, other former employees and former students. According to the report, allegations against Mumphery were documented at least twice but no disciplinary action was taken against the principal.

The HISD Police Department is currently investigating the allegations. Mumphery has not been charged with any crime.

When asked if the allegations were true, Mumphery said, “I have no comment.”

Look for more updates on Texas Watchdog later today. See the full report by clicking here.

Contact Lynn Walsh at lynn@texaswatchdog or 614-859-6194 or on Twitter @LWalsh.

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

HISD forwarded Key Middle School investigation to DA
Fri Sep 10 16:56:00 2010 CST
By Lynn Walsh

The Houston Independent School District forwarded an investigation of a Houston middle school to the Harris County District Attorney’s office in the spring, a district spokesman said Friday, but so far has not heard whether the DA will pursue any case.

The report details allegations of testing improprieties and missing assets from Key Middle School.

“We informed (the) DA,” HISD spokesman Norm Uhl said via e-mail. “(We) turned our report over to them when it was complete on April 19.”

In early April, Grier said the DA had not requested a copy of the report when asked whether he planned to forward it to them. But the DA’s office said complaints and cases the office investigates begin with someone bringing the issue to them, not the other way around.
Key Middle School surveillance video

Texas Watchdog learned of the Key Middle School investigation being submitted to the DA’s office while reporting on the recent sentencing of former HISD accounting coordinator Lydia M. Kinchen, who pleaded guilty to stealing more than $100,000 from the Houston district and taxpayers.

In January HISD Superintendent Terry Grier held a press conference to announce HISD was going to investigate Key Middle School. An anonymous tip led district officials to examine surveillance video from both Key and Kashmere High School, according to HISD. The surveillance video showed people moving computers and other equipment in and out of the buildings and at times into vehicles.

HISD hired the law firm Martin Disiere Jefferson & Wisdom to conduct a private investigation at Key, which found multiple examples of price gouging students on snacks, unauthorized fundraisers aimed at students and thousands of dollars of missing equipment. HISD fired six of the employees accused of wrongdoing, including former Key Principle Mable Caleb, at an April board meeting.

Contact Lynn Walsh at 713-228-2850 or lynn@texaswatchdog.org. On Twitter: @lwalsh.

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Owner of company implicated in HISD E-Rate ethics probe denies giving gifts to employees
Fri Aug 13 14:22:00 2010 CST
By Lynn Walsh

Cell phones, playoff sporting tickets, trinkets and thousands of dollars in personal checks — all allegedly given to Houston Independent School District employees by federal technology program vendors that had a multi-million dollar contract with the Houston district — but the owner of one company says he had nothing to do with it.

Frank Trifilio, head of the now-defunct Analytical Computer Services, said he and his company never gave gifts to HISD employees, beyond an occasional fast-food lunch, and sought to distance himself from one-time business partners in an interview with Texas Watchdog. Trifilio, of Houston, said HISD confused Analytical with his subcontractors in the federal E-Rate program and that his company was the scapegoat in an investigation that resulted in his being banned from doing business with the district.

From 2005 to 2008, Trifilio and his business partners allegedly showered gifts including cash, meals and fishing trips on employees managing E-Rate, an HISD memo detailed by Texas Watchdog last month. Analytical provided $45 million in technology services between July 2005 and June 2009, a district contracts database shows. A federal lawsuit stemming from the improper gifts was settled by the district this year, and HISD has strengthened its ethics policy for E-Rate employees and board members.

Trifilio said he’s also suffered consequences.

“I lost everything, including my family,” Trifilio said. “I went through all of my savings just to get lawyers in Washington to defend me. I had to lay off 200 employees because the company went bankrupt.”
present

Trifilio said ACS, which was the umbrella organization for other technology vendors also implicated in the ethics probe, stopped operating in January 2007.

Analytical Computer Services “gave cellphones to approximately 26 district employees at one time or another from approximately August 2002 to February 2007,” according to the district memo penned by an outside law firm for HISD.

“I never provided phones for anyone at HISD,” Trifilio said. When asked if it is possible that one of his 200 employees could have, he expressed disbelief: “No, I sign off on all of the bills. I would have seen something like that.”

Trifilio said HISD confused his company with subcontractors Acclaim Professional Services, owned by Larry Lehmann, and Micro Systems Enterprises, where Frankie Wong was president. Wong is in prison for his role in a bribery scandal involving the Dallas Independent School District.

“We were the scapegoat” in the controversy because of confusion over vendor identification numbers, Trifilio said. Micro Systems and Acclaim took on some of the contracted work because the district believed the volume was too much for one company to handle, Trifilio said.

“In the E-Rate program, you cannot split up vendor numbers for projects, so HISD put in my SPIN number and my name,” he said. “Our number was being used, but we were not doing the business.”

E-Rate obtain the numbers from the Universal Service Administrative Company, which under the direction of the FCC administers the E-Rate program, said Richard Patton, HISD’s E-Rate compliance official. Patton said he was not aware of any limitations on the vendor ID numbers like what Trifilio described.

“I became the umbrella organization because ACS was the only company with a SPIN number,” Trifilio said. “We (Micro Systems) were archenemies. The relationship was nothing but a title.”

Professional basketball suite tickets appear to be the most valuable of the gifts that HISD lawyers found came from Trifilio’s company. Then-Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra “and a guest attended three Houston Rockets playoff games in the Analytical Computer Services Inc. (‘ACS’) suite in 2005,” apparently NBA playoff games 3, 4 and 6 against the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs’ first round.

In an earlier interview with Texas Watchdog, Saavedra said he was invited to the games by HISD trustees, took his wife, but didn’t realize it was a vendor’s suite. He said he subsequently sent Trifilio a check for $300 to cover the costs.

Trifilio said he cashed the check, which was accompanied by “a very nice letter.”

Trifilio said the suite at the Toyota Center belonged to him and ACS but downplayed the appearance of a cozy relationship between his company and the district.

“The suites were mine,” Trifilio said. “Trustees were probably invited by a general manager. There were as many ACS employees there as there were board members.”

Other allegations outlined in the memorandum include gifts from ACS of fanny packs and koozies, or foamlike beverage containers, to HISD. Trifilio denies that ACS ever provided such items unless HISD employees picked them up at a convention.

Why would HISD employees and trustees attend a basketball game at an E-rate vendor’s suite?

Trifilio said the fact that board members were there is irrelevant because “the board members have zero influence in us getting any E-Rate contracts. The procurement is done on a lower level.” Board members vote on contracts or sign off on them after they are approved by district staff, depending on their value.

Trifilio said Analytical and district staff had a “camaraderie” with each other, which led to some district employees also attending games in the company suite.

“We had people (at HISD) all the time, at least eight people there, 40 hours a week,” Trifilio said. “They became friends with people over there. They had their own badges. They felt as if they were employees at HISD.”

Trifilio said when his company took HISD employees out to lunch, which he said happened a handful of times, the conversation was focused on current work.

“We didn’t talk about upcoming bids,” he said.

Former district technology employees William L. Edwards, Steve K. Kim and Laura M. Palmer were the primary recipients of the gifts and meals, the memo from HISD firm Bracewell & Guiliani said. Their names were closely guarded by the school district for years and were only released after a Texas Watchdog public information request that the district challenged to the attorney general’s office.

According to the memo, Edwards and Palmer accepted a ride on Wong’s fishing boat, the “Sir Veza” — the same name of a $305,000, 46-foot yacht connected to the E-Rate scandal in Dallas. Dallas ISD’s technology chief, Ruben B. Bohuchot, is in a federal prison in Fort Worth after being found guilty in the bribery and money laundering scheme.

Wong created a company to maintain the “Sir Veza,” according to the Justice Department.

“We worked together, but we hated each other with a passion,” Trifilio said, even though he mentioned he had taken his sons fishing on the boat. “We did north side, they did south side and that is that.”

Trifilio cooperated with the grand jury in the Dallas investigation, even though there was no information he could contribute, he said.

Trifilio said he had not talked to Lehmann. Texas Watchdog has attempted to contact Lehmann multiple times but has been unable to reach him.

Trifilio said he owns a rehab and renovation company.

“I am 65 years old, and I am cleaning toilets,” he said, adding that he works alone.

“No more subcontractors.”

Contact Lynn Walsh at at 713-228-2850 or lynn@texaswatchdog.org. Follow news about the Houston Independent School District on Twitter, #HISD.