Rogue's Gallery

Not all Rogues this Ugly

Periscope noted the plaintive tsk-tsk of Chronicle reporter Allan Turner on this morning's front page.  

Clearly, space limitations precluded treatment of the entirety of our fair city's crooked politicians.  Helpful commenters (those without out a Chronicle W-2 but merely a web connection - the bar is low...) pointed out his misses.  Chuck Rosenthal, Tommy Thomas...  I could continue but why?

Anyone can rifle the news morgue and populate a rouge's gallery - the fun part is in predicting whose snout will be snapped off next by those with the handcuffs and bullets.

And so...

We note with keen interest after a comprehensive reading of Mr. Eversole's Yule-tide indictment that almost none of the projects for which he was allegedly bribed by Mike Surface were even in his precinct.

Murworth (I & II) were in Precinct One.  The Commissioner for that Precinct, El Franco Lee, seems to have benefited from these projects much more than Jerry Eversole.  The sole mention of a bribe-fueled project in the 31 page indictment which was, in fact, located in Eversole's Precinct 4 was very likely the least valuable (from a roast pork standpoint).

So Periscope has to wonder...  will El Franco be walking the plank the next time a Christian Holiday rolls around?

The investigation of Eversole began under Bush II.  Was this a simple case of a Republican Justice Department losing its bearings and pursuing the indictment of an upstanding GOP'er like Eversole? Or  was something a bit more complex afoot?  We can't prove this (without $20 or $30 million to investigate, subpoena power and a badge and gun) but we suspect most anyone sitting on Commissioner's Court could (like the fabled ham sandwich) be indicted if the right prosecutor, with the right motive, set out to do so.

Why Jerry?

Periscope believes nothing is as dangerous in politics as making the wrong enemies.  Some of Eversole's enemies - for instance, uber-fixer Jack Raines - have some veeeeerrrrry long memories.  When Raines and Eversole were blood-feuding some years ago about the Houston Sports Authority  some Texas sized resentments were constructed that a boy from Port Arthur would have had a hard time forgetting.