Crime

Crime
03/07/11 12:17pm

The Corruption Trials Behind the Astrodome’s Lost Decade

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Development Strategies, Redevelopment, Reliant Park
6 Comments

Any explanation for why a county agency spent 10 years allowing the Astrodome fall into disrepair while haplessly throwing millions of dollars after a sequence of doomed and bizarre plans to redevelop it would have to focus on the thoughtful stewardship of Michael Surface, who presided over the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation from 1999 until his resignation at the end of 2007. Surface’s trial on corruption charges isn’t scheduled to take place until this fall. But jury selection for the trial of his partner in the 5-count federal indictment, Precinct 4 commissioner Jerry Eversole, begins today.

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Buying and Selling
01/27/11 11:52am

A Look Inside the Uptown Park House Leslie Tyler Fink May Have To Turn Over to the Feds

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Crime, Fraud, Wynden Oaks Estates
22 Comments

Will the rumored reality TV show featuring Leslie Tyler Fink ever reach the airwaves? Or are these listing pics the best view you’ll ever get of the house the “lifestyle expert” and her husband (pictured at left) own in a gated subdivision just west of Uptown Park, and which the U.S. Attorney’s office has identified as “property involved in, or traceable to, money laundering”? Leslie and Randy Fink bought the the 4,096-sq.-ft. home at 5 Wynden Oaks Dr. 2 years ago for $740,000 in cash, but the entire amount (plus an additional $8,980 to cover closing costs) was wired in for the closing courtesy of Leslie’s pal Jonathan Barnes — as a gift, the Chronicle‘s Tom Fowler reported last week. How generous! Sadly, Barnes — who worked as a marine chartering manager at Houston Refining (now part of LyondellBasell), was indicted late last year along with two oil traders for his involvement in a multi-million-dollar kickback scheme. According to the Feds, Barnes’s thoughtful house gift came from funds “traceable to . . . unlawful activity,” and the ill-gotten property, which is named as the plaintiff in a complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s office, is therefore subject to forfeiture if Barnes is convicted. Isn”t this exactly the kind of stuff great reality TV shows are built from?

“Drama right?! . . . This is going to be one of the episodes for the show,” the apparently unflappable Fink — who identifies herself as “princess of the modern Houstonian socialites” on one of her websites — declared last week in an email she sent to CultureMap’s Shelby Hodge. Can’t wait to see footage of the parties!

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Comments
11/16/10 3:24pm

Comment of the Day: Crime Block

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Crime, Quicklink, Security
2 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: CRIME BLOCK “Does having a wall at a dead end street make it more secure? In some ways, criminals may be safer where no one can see them during the day, or night. The wall may act as a buffer for thieves instead of hindering their action. There are many stories in the neighborhood where high walls and fences encouraged thieves. Typically, pedestrian areas seem to be more safe since there is always someone watching. So I’m not sure about the safety for those residents on the dead end street with just a wall.” [Montrose Slums, commenting on Open and Shut: The Montrose H-E-B’s Pedestrian Gates]

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Crime
11/10/10 10:12am

Indoor Tropical Gardening in La Marque

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Gardening, La Marque
18 Comments

Galveston County Sheriff’s deputies, La Marque and Texas City Police, and officials from the Texas DPS Narcotics unit gathered for a garden tour yesterday in the back building of the purported cabinet-making business of Gregory William Stanley, at the southeast corner of 5th St. and FM 519 in La Marque. Thanks to careful attention to air flow and insulation, Stanley had been able to keep law-enforcement officials off the scent of his 240-plant greenhouse for a while:

The pungent aroma of marijuana was evident only upon entering the metal building.

The building had an extra ridge vent to help push the marijuana smell through the roof, sheriff’s office Lt. Tommy Hansen said.

“It’s all insulated,” [Capt. Barry] Cook said. “Foam board on the walls, silver insulating materials on the ceiling, and ultraviolet lights to help these plants.”

Oscillating fans still were blowing air through the rooms as authorities photographed the evidence.

“There’s a ventilation, heating and lighting system, and they’ve got fans moving the air to keep it cool and damp in here,” Cook said.

Video: Galveston County Daily News

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Crime
10/04/10 10:42am

Calculating Danger in Galveston

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Galveston, Quicklink, The Strand
2 Comments

CALCULATING DANGER IN GALVESTON The data miners behind the Neighborhood Scout website have declared a small but notable section of Galveston to be the 21st most dangerous neighborhood in the U.S. — and the second most dangerous in Texas (the top state honor goes to #15, an area near E. Lancaster Ave. in Ft. Worth). Working from secure offices in Rhode Island using the company’s “patented, patent-pending, exclusive or proprietary” data, Neighborhood Scout calculates residents of the area in Galveston from 19th to 26th streets between Broadway and Harborside (labeled the Church St. neighborhood) have a 1 in 11 chance of becoming a crime victim over a 1-year period. No, the risks of becoming a storm or flooding victim appear to have had no effect on the rankings. Included in that little hood: The heart of Galveston’s Strand Historic District. [Wallet Pop; details]

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Crime
09/29/10 12:25pm

The Tale of the Enterprising Renovators

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Fires, Hazards, Quicklink, South Acres
1 Comment

THE TALE OF THE ENTERPRISING RENOVATORS The owner of the South Acres house where that angel dust lab burst into flames last night told arson investigators he hadn’t been living at home because it was being worked on, and didn’t know anything about any drug manufacturing operation going on in his single-car garage. Neighbors living a couple blocks away from the tiny Donegal Way cul-de-sac off Akard St. south of Sims Bayou said their houses were shaken by the explosion, and observers reported seeing flames leap 20 to 30 feet into the air. “The investigators said they are planning to question the people renovating the home.” [MyFox Houston]

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Crime
08/12/10 12:48pm

Greenspoint Apartment Takeover

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Foreclosures, Greenspoint, Quicklink, Renovations
7 Comments

GREENSPOINT APARTMENT TAKEOVER A Houston firm that took over management of 3 foreclosed Greenspoint-area apartment complexes last month says it’s working with the HPD to open a police substation in one of them. Kaplan Management Co. VP Michelle Rhone tells reporter Jennifer Duell Popovec that the complexes — City View Place Apartments, Cambridge at City View, and Springfield at City View — became “a haven for criminals” during the 5 years the properties were owned by New York’s GFI Capital. The substation would be located at City View Place, at 16818 City View Place, east of Greenspoint Mall next to Greens Bayou. “Moreover, the company has created a plan to establish a number of civic programs to serve the City Place assets including a wellness clinic, tutoring from Houston Independent School District, vocational training and YMCA swimming lessons. Additionally, Kaplan will work with CW Capital to address deferred maintenance issues, Rhone says. The lender has already invested $100,000 to address immediate maintenance needs at the properties, she adds.” [Globe St.]

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Buying and Selling
07/21/10 2:23pm

Comment of the Day: Deal Killers

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Comments, Crime, Quicklink, Real Estate Marketing
18 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: DEAL KILLERS “. . . the fact of someone breathing their last at a property holds no ick factor for me. Once, at a Closing, in that long interval where you are waiting for copies, the little old lady Seller told me about her boyfriend dying at the house I had just bought. Didn’t creep me out at all– just a sweet sad tale. But . . . I am really curious as to what house history would be a deal breaker for you all. [Death] by natural causes? By violence? Creepy perpetrators of off-site crimes?” [Harold Mandell, commenting on A Swank Modern Meyerland Home with a Record]

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Crime
07/20/10 3:49pm

A Swank Modern Meyerland Home with a Record

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Homes for Sale, Houston Architects, Interiors, Meyerland, Renovations
32 Comments

Modern architecture fans in Houston have been whispering about this 1964 Meyerland home ever since it went on the market late last month. Houston Mod featured it as its “Mod of the Month” open house a couple of weeks ago. Commenters on a Swamplot post about another modern-era home have also been discussing the 3,172-sq.-ft. home, which sits just a couple blocks north of Brays Bayou. As one of them noted, it’s the former home of Houston architect John R. Dossey, who bought it with his wife more than a decade ago and renovated it extensively.

If that name sounds familiar, it might be because Dossey pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to possession of child pornography. The charges stemmed from the stakeout by an FBI unit in March of a feeder-road pay-by-the-hour Scottish Inn & Suites hotel in southwest Houston, where Dossey was arrested in the company of a 16-year-old prostitute. Dossey admitted to taking photos of the girl, and a later search of his home on Manhattan Dr. (yes, pictured here) netted his computers, the inevitable forensic hard-drive search, and the child pornography charge.

Dossey, who’s been in custody without bond ever since, transferred ownership of the home — and the 12,755-sq.-ft. lot next door — in May. And yes . . . both are now for sale! Which means you can conduct a little surveillance of the scene on your own:

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Crime
06/24/10 10:36pm

Shawn Speer Will Not Stand for Wolf Urine on His Slab

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Homebuilders
5 Comments

A commenter on the TexAgs online forum is claiming that former Royce Builders vice president Shawn Speer called his supervisors and threatened him with the loss of his job. The fun started about a month ago when another forum participant, who goes by the name Comet*, complained online that workers constructing a house next door to his had been using water from his home without permission, leaving nails on the street and trash around the neighborhood. Comet* didn’t know who was building the home, but 2 days later, after several hours of phone calls, he received a call back from Shawn Speer. Comet*’s record of the conversation will likely be of interest to the many fans of bankrupt Royce Builders:

So I told him what was wrong, and he was extremely nice and will be doing a number of things to make sure that doesn’t happen. Went above what I expected, and I am very satisfied for now. No complaints at all anymore.

He said we’re not trying to hide who we are, I just ran out of signs, so that’s why there was no contact info on the lot.

me: So you’re just going by “Shawn Spears?”

s: Well, I have several companies and mentioned Travis homes as one of them (the only one I didn’t know Royce was working under).

But according to Comet* (or Comet*’s wife, who apparently also posts under the same account), the workers didn’t stop using the water spigot on his property. And then things started to escalate. Comet*’s wife wrote the next day:

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Crime
06/09/10 2:36pm

The High-Security Fruits of West University

by
Landscape, Signage, West University
48 Comments

And here we have perhaps the best-monitored fig tree on Tangley, west of Buffalo Speedway in West University. Practicing for the thorough investigation that is sure to follow, the reader who sent us the tip claims to have been “in the middle of a public street when I took the photo.” Fig poachers, you have been warned! Says our reader:

who knew these figs were so valuable they’re worth the sign, netting, security camera, and wiring installed to protect them?

Oh, but have you ever tasted a West U fig?

Late Update: The fig tree has been outed by several commenters. C’mon — fess up! You’re really a peach, aren’t you?

Photo: Swamplot inbox

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Crime
05/25/10 5:16pm

D&W Lounge: What’s Stirring in Eastwood’s After-Coffee Morning Bar

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Eastwood, Nightlife
6 Comments

D&W Lounge owner Keith Weyel told the Houston Press‘s John Nova Lomax last year he was “somewhat disappointed that the kids in the nearby new condos” hadn’t quite found their way yet to his bar just past the train tracks on Milby St., at the western edge of Eastwood. But Lomax doesn’t mind:

. . . to cater to the third shift at the coffee plant, the D&W Lounge opens at 7 AM. The interior is done up with pictures of Marilyn Monroe, statues of the Buddha, and a super-cool tin man hand-fashioned out of school cafeteria cans.

More evidence of the bar’s rough-and-tumble street cred: last month’s on-site fatal shooting.

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Apartments
05/20/10 1:22pm

Next Time Keep the Bill Below $3 Grand and You Can Avoid Those Costly Panic Attacks

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Crime, Fort Bend County, Hazards, Richmond
9 Comments

Just how big is the South Grand at Pecan Grove apartment complex in Richmond? Well, moving from one side of the complex to the other can cost you just south of $8 grand — and maybe a little hospitalization. Tentra Allen’s moving adventure last weekend began after she responded to a little Craigslist ad and signed a little contract with the moving company that showed up:

. . . Before unloading things, Andy said Allen had to pay the bill: $7,684. That included 35 units of shrink wrap for $2,800 and a “long walk” that cost $4,300.

Allen said Andy whipped out the contract, which said all previous verbal agreements were null and void and laid out a menagerie of outrageous charges in the fine print.

“If you don’t pay, we’re taking everything to Maine,” he threatened.

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Apartments
05/19/10 12:53pm

Fraud Arrests for Sham Condo Sales at the Kirby Lofts

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Buying and Selling, Condos, Crime, Downtown, Fraud, Lofts
5 Comments

Converted from an office building to apartments in 2004 by NBC Holdings’ Tracy Suttles and The Randall Davis Company, the Kirby Lofts at 917 Main Downtown went condo a little later. How did that ball get rolling? The federal government’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force suggests one answer: a few “sham sales” from January to October 2006. Indictments charging Veronica Frazier, Robert Veazie, and Felton Greer with several counts of conspiracy and wire fraud were unsealed Friday.

Frazier, 42, of Pearland, allegedly recruited buyers with good credit in 2006 to act as straw borrowers and use false information to apply for home loans, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. She and other unnamed co-conspirators then allegedly used the loan proceeds for themselves and to pay kickbacks to the fake borrowers.

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Condos for Sale
05/18/10 12:36pm

Ken Lay’s Lonely Castle in the Sky Floats Down Almost 20 Percent

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Crime, Interiors, Price Reductions, Upper Kirby
9 Comments

“How much further will it fall?” Swamplot asked back in January, not long after the list price for Ken and Linda Lay’s 33rd-floor penthouse in the Huntingdon on Kirby Dr. was marked down the last time. And now we have a partial answer: All the way to $10.25 million — for now, at least. That’s almost a 14 percent cut from the last price, but just under 20 percent off the initial $12.8 million ya-gotta-try pricing Linda Lay started with.

And really, you want to be coming down in regular increments. What numbers come next?

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