HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The former chief operating officer at HISD and a landscaping contractor have both been found guilty of conspiring in a bribery scheme.
Brian Busby, who worked his way up from janitor to chief operating officer, and a landscaping contractor for the district, Anthony Hutchison, were found guilty on all 33 charges relating to the scheme after the jury deliberated for about six hours on Friday.
The charges include conspiracy, bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, witness tampering, and willfully filing false tax returns.
Emotions were high in the courtroom, with some of their family members starting to cry as the guilty charges were read.
After the verdict came down, Dick DeGuerin, Busby’s attorney, told ABC13 “I am very disappointed and frankly, I’m shocked. The verdict was too quick. 33 counts, two defendants, it was too quick,”
Rusty Hardin, who represented Hutchison, was clearly disappointed with the outcome as well, and said, “There’s really not anything we can say. We feel very strongly that our client wasn’t guilty and still feel that way, but also, never criticize a jury. I know they did what they thought was right.”
The judge tentatively set their sentencing for July 28.
Below is the reporting from earlier in the trial proceedings.
In February 2020, both men’s homes and offices were raided by FBI agents, including Busby’s office at the HISD’s administration building.
PREVIOUS REPORT: Trial begins for ex-HISD COO and alleged co-conspirator accused in kickback scheme
Prosecutors accuse Busby of using his influence to steer landscaping contracts at HISD toward Hutchison’s company in exchange for cash bribes and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of renovations to Busby’s home.
Throughout a seven-year period, prosecutors allege the men defrauded the district of $7 million.
Five others have accepted plea agreements in the case already. Four worked in various maintenance and facility roles at HISD, including Derrick Sanders, Alfred Hoskins, Gerron Hall, and Luis Tovar. Former HISD Board of Education president Rhonda Skillern-Jones admitted to taking more than $10,000 in bribe payments from Hutchison, according to the plea filed in her case.
During the trial, Busby took the stand in his own defense and explained to jurors that he and Hutchison are very close friends. He said the two traveled to Las Vegas several times together to gamble and they won large sums of cash.
Busby said in January of 2020, the two traveled to Las Vegas together, and he won $38,000. Four days before the raids in February of 2020, he won $60,000.
He said he deposited the money in the bank but kept some in the safe at his house.
During closing arguments, prosecutor Heather Winters told jurors Busby and Hutchison “billed taxpayers millions of dollars in order to get rich.”
She told jurors that Busby did make what she called “legitimate money” through his job at HISD, a daycare that he and his now ex-wife opened, rental homes, and gambling. But she said that did not account for the more than $3.054 million in cash deposits starting in 2015.
Hutchison was awarded a contract with HISD in 2011, at which time, the prosecutor says, Busby was on the voting committee and voted in favor of his company being awarded the contract. In 2015, Hutchison became the exclusive outside vendor for the landscaping for the district.
Winters alleges Hutchison “blatantly lied on every invoice.” She said every summer when schools were in need of having the grass cut four times per month, he only cut the grass twice but billed for four cuts.
During the trial, former employees of Hutchison’s company took the stand and said they only cut the grass twice a month.
“Hutchison was fraudulently milking HISD for millions of dollars for years,” Winters said.
While he was on the stand, Winters reminded jurors that Hoskins said he was pressured by Busby to use Hutchison so they could “get rich.”
He recounted the day of the FBI raid on HISD’s administrative building on the stand and said he ran outside the back of the building when he saw the FBI and deleted his text messages with Busby and Hutchison.
Winters showed jurors transcripts of Hoskins testimony where he said Busby called him the night of the raid and said, “Bro, be sure to let the guys know that I didnt have anything to do with Just Construction getting a contract or anything. Had nothing to do with none of that.”
When asked by prosecutors if he agreed with that and he said, “No, sir.”
Winters reminded jurors that Hutchison had more than one interaction with the individuals who accepted plea agreements with the US Attorney’s Office after the raid and showed concerns that they were wearing a wire.
Winters encouraged jurors to use reason, logic, and common sense when making their decision.
Dick DeGuerin presented closing arguments on behalf of his client Brian Busby.
“The government has the burden of proof, and they didn’t bring it to you,” he told jurors.
The prosecutor’s first exhibit in evidence was a ledger that belonged to Hutchison that they allege contained a log of bribes he paid to Busby and others.
DeGuerin said no one has been able to get on the stand and fully interpret the ledger. Hutchison did not take the stand in the trial.
He painted Busby as a go-to employee at HISD and said prosecutors did not put anyone on the stand who refuted his quality of work.
DeGuerin pointed out that the only witness tampering charges related to Hoskins. He described him as being very scared of what was going on and groveled to FBI agents during his interview. DeGuerin painted him as an unreliable witness.
He refuted the idea that Busby strong-armed Hoskins into ranking Hutchison’s company high on bids. DeGuerin said Hall and Tovar did not score Hutchison’s company high during the bidding process.
Similarly, DeGuerin said Skillern-Jones’ longtime employer described her on the stand as someone who was not truthful and she was fired over it.
He doubled down on Busby’s testimony where he said he did give Skillern-Jones $10,000 from Hutchison, but said it was for gift cards for people in her district affected by Hurricane Harvey. Busby said he did not meet her at a Walmart to exchange the money, as court records say. DeGuerin pointed out that no correspondence was found between Busby and Skillern-Jones arranging a meeting at a Walmart.
As it relates to the cash deposits, DeGuerin said loans that Busby took out during that time and his cash withdrawals were not analyzed. He said his client was taking out loans to pay off other loans.
If convicted, the men face up to five, 10 and 20 years, respectively, for the conspiracy, bribery and witness tampering charges. Hutchison also faces up to 20 years for each count of wire fraud. The willfully filing false tax return charges add possible 3-year-prison terms for each count.
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