Sep 28, 2007 10:38 pm US/Central
Former Councilman Fantroy Details Feds' Plea Offer
by Jack Fink
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
There's new information in the FBI's corruption investigation at Dallas City Hall. It involves former Mayor Pro-Tem Don Hill and former councilman James Fantroy.
On Wednesday, CBS 11 News broke the story that indictments in the case are imminent. Sources say the indictments could be announced as early as Monday.
CBS 11 News has learned that Don Hill has been notified by prosecutors that he is a target in the investigation.
James Fantroy said he was offered a deal to stay out of prison, but that he's already turned it down. "No, I'm not going to plead guilty to anything I didn't do," he said.
Former Dallas city councilman James Fantroy said he would rather face a jury than accept a deal offered by federal prosecutors. He says he faces charges of embezzlement, money laundering, tax evasion and bribery involving the corruption probe at Dallas City Hall, centered around affordable housing projects.
Under the terms of the deal, Fantroy says he would plead guilty to a single charge and testify on the government's behalf. In exchange, he says he wouldn't be sentenced to prison, just to probation.
At the age of 70, and battling cancer in both kidneys, Fantroy says he's ready to take his chances in court. "If they want to send me to prison, I'm willing to go," he said, "because I represented the community the best way I knew how."
"I haven't taken no money and I haven't laundered no money," Fantroy added.
Fantroy says the embezzlement charge stems from accusations that he was responsible for $50,000 that turned up missing from a community development corporation connected with Paul Quinn College. He says the allegations are false. "Totally," he said. "There was no money missing."
There are also new developments involving other key figures in the investigation.
A source tells CBS 11 News that federal prosecutors recently sent a target letter to former Mayor Pro-Tem Don Hill. He hasn't returned our repeated phone calls and wasn't home when we stopped by earlier this week. But Hill was quoted in a local newspaper as saying he hasn't been contacted by anyone, or talked to anyone, or heard anything.
The attorney for former plan commission D'Angelo Lee said Friday prosecutors have not offered Lee any deal.
Federal prosecutors and the FBI aren't commenting on the case.
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