Former city employee and 6 others accused of stealing millions of taxpayer dollars, records show

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- According to charging documents, a former City of Houston Public Works employee was arrested for allegedly taking bribes and funneling money through several businesses for nearly 10 months.

Patrece Lee is facing four charges of bribery and abuse of official capacity greater than $300,000.

Six more people are expected to turn themselves in in the coming days after they were accused of stealing millions of taxpayer dollars and possibly impacting public infrastructure for years.

"People have public corruption because it costs taxpayer money and, more importantly, it violates the public trust in government," Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said.

Lee was arrested Thursday after being accused of being the mastermind of a scheme that supposedly stole millions of city tax dollars and filled her pockets.

This arrest comes after the City of Houston hired several emergency contractors to deal with multiple water main breaks last year.

Lee was a high-ranking public works employee who, along with her brother and five other accused accomplices, got the city to award them high-level emergency repair contracts for water main breaks.

One person and six more people are expected to turn themselves in in the coming days after they were accused of stealing millions of taxpayer dollars and possibly impacting public infrastructure for years.

Documents say that from January 2023 through November 2023, Lee allegedly solicited kickbacks worth more than $320,000. The former employee is also said to have defrauded the department out of $400,000 by diverting funds to herself through what is being called a "shell" company.

According to court records, Lee reportedly used COH funds, water, and waterline repair services by recommending and requiring them to pay the bill from Lu's Construction. Charging documents say that the company belongs to her brother.

From September 2023 to November 2023, documents said Lee agreed to accept payment from "Tiesha Coleman Houston" in cash for choosing and recommending her to approve a work order under the COH Emergency Purchase Justification.

"Patrice Lee's scheme short-circuited every check and balance the city had in place to avoid theft, bribery," Ogg said.

Randi Macchi, the public works chief operating officer, said more checks and balances need to be implemented to prevent this from happening in the future. He suggested more leg work to ensure businesses aren't being run out of apartments, which was the case for the shell company Lee's brother is accused of running.

The seven defendants now face 14 charges ranging from abuse of official capacity, bribery, and tampering. Multiple charges are felonies.

"All the stakeholders who are represented here today will not tolerate public corruption," Houston Mayor John Whitmire said.

Of the millions of dollars stolen, $750,000 was pocketed between the seven people. The full shopping list isn't being released because it will be used as evidence in an upcoming trial, but the DA says multiple new cars were purchased recently.

The impacts from all this stretch for years, as poorly repaired infrastructure will continue to crumble

"Now we know which repairs were good and which were bad, this may be a problem we continue to pay for as taxpayers," Ogg said.

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