HISD vendor subject of probe
Landscaper accused of conspiring with ex-COOon kickbacks
A longtime Houston ISD landscaping vendor who holds a district contract worth up to $30 million and carries a decades- old felony conviction on bribery-related charges is at the center of a kickback scheme investigation, newly filed court records show.
Anthony Hutchison, the owner of Southwest Wholesale LLC, faces accusations fromfederal investigators that he conspired with former HISD chief operating officer Brian Busby to receive payment for work that his employees never conducted.
Hutchison and Busby have not been charged with any crimes, though federal officials have placed a civil forfeiture claim on about $185,000 in cash seized from the pair and could still file charges.
Federal lawyers filed the claim late last week, nearly seven months after FBI, IRS and U.S. Department of Education agents raided HISD headquarters and the homes of Busby and Hutchison. The claim offered the first insight into the reasons for the February raid.
While the federal lawyers identified Busby in their claim last week, they did not refer to Hutchison by name. However, Hutchison on Thursday placed a claim on the $95,000 seized from his home and vehicle, identifying himself as the contractor listed in the initial court documents.
Hutchison’s lawyer, John MacVane, declined to comment on the filings Friday. Hutchison did
not respond to a message or answer the door at his Bellaire home earlier this week when contacted by the Houston Chronicle.
HISD administrators have not commented this week on whether they plan to alter or terminate the district’s contract with Southwest Wholesale. Board President Sue Deigaard on Friday said “the board will be reviewing the matter with the superintendent.”
In the initial forfeiture claim, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristine Rollinson wrote there is “reason to believe” the contractor and Busby conspired with unnamed individuals to pay Southwest Wholesale for work performed by HISD employees, often at overtime rates. Rollinson also wrote the contractor paid kickbacks to Busby, who then deposited the money into various bank accounts he controlled.
Busby has not responded to requests for comment, and court records do not list any lawyers representing him. Busby has not filed a claim on the $90,000 seized from his Cypress-area home in February.
District records show HISD trustees voted in January 2016 to award a five-year landscaping contract worth up to $26.8 million to two longtime vendors, Southwest Wholesale and Corte Enterprises Inc.
However, district records show Corte Enterprises has not received any payments from HISD in the past three years. Payment records for prior years were not immediately available.
Southwest Wholesale has received regular payments from HISD, including a $111,100 check issued on Sept. 14.
Trustees voted to amend the contract in 2019, increasing the value by about $2.7 million over the final two years. Available records do not specify why HISD officials sought the increase.
Busby served as general man-ager of facilities in early 2016 and chief operating officer in 2019. Neither Busby nor trustees spoke about the contract or the amendment prior to voting on them.
Busby was placed on paid home duty following the February raid, continuing to earn his $210,000 salary amid the investigation. Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan did not renew Busby’s annual contract, which ended Sept. 1, and he no longer works for the district.
Hutchison previously came under scrutiny in 2011 when the now-defunct news website Texas Watchdog reported he received a grounds maintenance contract with HISD worth about $435,000, even though his bid was the highest of the eight submitted. At the time, HISD officials did not explain their reason for awarding the contract to Hutchison’s company, according to Texas Watchdog.
Hutchison faced a federal investigation into one of his landscaping companies in the late 1980s. Federal agents alleged that he and a co-worker provided fake Social Security and resident alien cards to the government in an attempt to hire employees who were not residing in the country legally, according reports from the now-defunct Houston Post.
A former employee also taped Hutchison offering him a bribe to change his statements before an administrative hearing on the matter, the Post reported.
At the time, Hutchison was one of the nation’s first defendants to face criminal and administrative charges related to hiring employees who cannot legally work in the United States.
A jury convicted Hutchison on five counts and a judge sentenced him to 60 days in jail, eight months of home detention, five years of probation and a $2,000 fine, the Post reported.
Hutchison played for three seasons in the National Football League, earning 22 carries as a running back for the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills.