"Bribe charge sparks Houston airport contracts probe"

Thursday, December 9, 2004

Bribe charge sparks city probe
Allegations against ex-official spur wide review of airport, energy service
contracts
By KRISTEN MACK and RON NISSIMOV
The Houston (TX) Chronicle


City officials began a review of airport and energy services contracts
Wednesday after learning that an Ohio consultant linked to federal bribery
allegations against former Houston Parks Director Oliver Spellman won a
shuttle bus contract at Bush Intercontinental Airport. 

"I've asked the city attorney to investigate based on the information we
have received from the federal district attorney," Mayor Bill White said.  

He said City Attorney Arturo Michel will prepare a memo to the city's office
of inspector general on issues that might require further investigation. 

Administration officials emphasized that the shuttle contract was awarded by
a consortium that operates under city contract at the airport, and not by
the city itself. 

Spellman was charged Tuesday in Ohio with accepting bribes in exchange for
helping a Cleveland man identified as "Consultant #1" who was seeking
business opportunities in Houston. 

The charge against Spellman is part of a continuing investigation that
already has resulted in the bribery indictment of a Cleveland city
councilman and conviction of the former East Cleveland mayor. 

Spellman is accused of accepting $2,000 to $3,000 cash and a Las Vegas hotel
stay in exchange for his help, according to the criminal information
document setting out the charges. The document does not identify "Consultant
#1," but other evidence in the wide-ranging Cleveland investigation
indicates he is Nate Gray, a politically connected Cleveland consultant and
businessman. 

Gray owns Etna Parking, which has a piece of the contract for shuttling
car-rental customers at Bush Intercontinental Airport. 

White and airport officials said Etna's contract was a private one with a
consortium of rental car companies that have city contracts to operate out
of a new rental car facility at Intercontinental. 

The charges against Spellman also say he helped Consultant #1 to "obtain
favorable consideration from a city of Houston official who was selecting a
vendor to provide energy services." 

White said he did not know who the unnamed city official might be. 

Michel said he is looking into the energy contract in question, which Gray
did not win for his client. 

White said the charges against Spellman "came as a complete surprise." 

Spellman served as parks director for four years and as former Mayor Lee
Brown's chief of staff in 2002, but did not work for the city during White's
administration. 

Spellman most recently worked as a deputy to County Commissioner Sylvia
Garcia. He resigned that job abruptly Friday, and Garcia has asked County
Attorney Mike Stafford to review about a dozen contracts Spellman handled. 

Brown said he first learned of the charges against Spellman on Tuesday
night. 

"I was not aware of any wrongdoing on his behalf," Brown said. "I hope the
charges are not true. My administration had as one of its hallmarks ethics
and integrity. Nothing that was unethical or illegal would be tolerated by
my administration." 

Brown said he has not spoken to Spellman since he was charged in the bribery
case. 

Calls to Spellman's home were not returned Wednesday. 

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland filed a motion Tuesday to transfer
Spellman's case to the same judge who handled the case of former East
Cleveland Mayor Emmanuel Onunwor, who is scheduled to be sentenced next week
for accepting bribes in return for funneling contracts to two Gray
associates. 

The motion states that Consultant #1 in the information against Spellman is
the same person referred to as "Intermediary #1" in the Onunwor case. During
the trial of that case, investigators testified that Gray was the
intermediary who bribed Onunwor. 

Gray has not been charged. 

Spellman, who was parks director in Cleveland before coming to Houston in
1998, was charged with one count of criminal conspiracy to obtain bribes as
a public official, an offense carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in
prison and a $250,000 fine.


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