A third Dallas public official pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion last week in connection with a $70 million corruption scandal involving a school bus camera vendor, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Larry Duncan, a former Dallas City Council member, admitted to taking $245,000 in campaign contributions from Force Multiplier Solutions President Robert Leonard between 2011 and 2017 and using $184,000 of that money on personal expenses.
Duncan received the money while president of the board at Dallas County Schools, the public agency that supplied bus services to area schools, including the Dallas Independent School District. The agency awarded Force Multiplier $70 million in contracts to supply bus cameras.
“Mr. Duncan not only failed to reveal the nature of the campaign contributions, he failed to disclose the money to the IRS,” U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox said during a press conference.
Duncan, 72, is the fifth person to enter a guilty plea in the case. The others include Leonard; Dwaine Caraway, former Dallas mayor pro tem; Rick Sorrells, former superintendent of Dallas County Schools; and Slater Swartwood Sr., an associate of Leonard.
Duncan’s sentencing is scheduled for March 8, NBC-TV 5 reported. If his plea deal is approved, he faces up to a year in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. He has also agreed to pay back taxes on the money he received.
Funded by taxpayers, Dallas County Schools closed in July with more than $100 million in debt.
“The FBI remains committed to investigating anyone associated with the financial exploitation at Dallas County Schools,” Eric K. Jackson, special agent-in-charge of the FBI’s Dallas Division, said in a press release. “This latest indictment continues the efforts of the FBI, along with our partners at the IRS and U.S. Attorney’s Office, to protect and defend Dallas taxpayers from those who would exploit their position for personal gain.”
