More guilty pleas for several people charged in the Houston waterline contract corruption scandal.
Seven people were indicted in total after a years-long KPRC ‘DRAINED’ Investigation exposed widespread corruption in repair contracts.
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So far, six of those people have accepted plea deals.
The so-called ‘Big Fish’ in the scandal Patrece Lee agreed to a 10-year plea deal on Tuesday.
Danielle Hurts
Danielle Hurts, Lee’s former assistant, pleaded guilty to a first-degree felony charge of Abuse of Official Capacity. She agreed to 10 years in prison, but Judge Veronica Nelson reduced that to six years’ probation.
Hurts was also ordered to pay $50,000 restitution. She is the only one ordered to pay back any money.
Prosecutors described 34-year-old Hurts as Lee’s personal collection agent. They said she also used the alias “Rachel Taylor” to collect from Lee’s fraudulent consulting business and two other city contractors, essentially triple dipping while doing “no actual real work” to earn the payments.
In a tearful interview this week, Hurts told Investigator Amy Davis that she was just doing what she was told.
She said this case has ruined her life.
Andrew Thomas
Andrew Thomas is Lee’s brother. Last year, KPRC 2 Investigator Amy Davis revealed Lee awarded him a $4.5 million contract for waterline inspections.
You may remember Amy caught up with Thomas several times. He said he’s never stolen anything.
- Thomas pleaded guilty to attempted bribery, a third-degree felony. In exchange, the first-degree felony charges of Abuse of Official Capacity and Bribery were dropped.
- Thomas agreed to 10 years at the Texas Department of Corrections but was given a reduced sentence of three years’ probation.
- Ordered to serve 80 hours of community service
In court records, the Texas Rangers say Thomas “cooked the books” with Lee, funneling $406,000 to his business, Lu’s Construction, and then moving much of that money to Lee’s account.
Tieasha Coleman-Houston
Tieasha Coleman-Houston pleaded guilty to “Public Servant Acceptance of Gifts”- a Class A misdemeanor that carries a possible penalty of one year in jail and a $4k fine.
Coleman-Houston is one of four contractors and business owners charged with bribery for making payments to Lee in exchange for steering the waterline repairs, inspections and city payments their way.
She is the owner of T. J. Cole Enterprises, LLC. Her plea agreement details:
- Received two years of deferred adjudication
- 80 hours of community service
- Cannot bid on or compete in any city of Houston contracts in those two years
- Must provide testimony in trials against co-defendants, if needed
Edelmiro Castillo
Former business owner Edelmiro Castillo also struck a plea deal.
He is the former owner of Omega Engineering and says he is now retired.
Court documents show Castillo paid former water department maintenance manager Patrece Lee $117,000 just before he was awarded a repair contract for more than $1 million. According to court documents, he told the Texas Rangers, “I screwed up. It was a bonehead thing to do. I knew it wasn’t right.”
Castillo pleaded guilty to the Class A misdemeanor “public servant acceptance of gifts”. His plea deal details:
- Received two years of deferred adjudication
- Cannot bid on or compete in any city of Houston contracts in those two years
- Must provide testimony in trials against co-defendants, if needed
The judge asked how much he gets for retirement, and when he said $4,200, she said she would waive his court and probation costs.
Patrece Lee
Tuesday the Harris County District Attorney’s Office made a plea deal with the former Houston water department manager Patrece Lee.
She was labeled the mastermind behind a multimillion-dollar scheme to divert tax dollars to herself, friends, and family. Lee was charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, abuse of official capacity and four counts of bribery.
Lee’s plea agreement details:
- The Harris County DA’s office dropped four felonies in exchange for Lee’s guilty plea to bribery.
- 10 years in the Texas Department of Corrections with time served from when she was arrested in May 2024.
- The deal is in exchange for her testimony against the other defendants, if needed.
Joseph Nerie
Last week, contractor Joseph Nerie also reached a plea deal when his felony bribery charges were dropped in exchange for pleading guilty to the misdemeanor of “giving a gift to a public servant.”
Frank Perkins - the only person left to make a plea contract
Court records show Perkins told investigators that “Lee proposed to him that he pay 10% of any deal he gets with the City of Houston to her charity.”
Court records show Perkins got $349,000 from the city. He paid Lee $28,000 and then he paid co-defendant Danielle Hurts another $17,000.
We will let you know if/when he reaches a plea deal.
‘DRAINED’ results - changes for Houston water customers
The KPRC ‘DRAINED’ Investigation did not just lead to indictments related to contract dealings. There have also been massive changes to the water billing system in Houston. The billing revamp is still in process for customers who were frustrated over high and often confusing water bills. You can catch up on the latest on that here.
