Morning News
June 12, 1987
Lawyer sticks by claim of fee pact with Feazell
By Garth Jones
Associated Press
AUSTIN – Waco lawyer Dick Kettler stood fast under cross-examination Thursday on his testimony that his law firm had an agreement with McLennan County District Attorney Vic Feazell to split legal fees.
“Yes sir, that is what happened, Kettler said when challenged by defense attorney Gary Richardson.
But Kettler admitted after questions by Richardson that he and his partner, Don Hall, had charged up to $3,000 for drunken-driving and drug cases they were able to get dismissed before Feazell became district attorney.
“That’s true,” Kettler said. “We probably had cases like that before Feazell took office.”
At the completion of Kettler’s cross-examination, the court recessed until Monday. U.S. Assistant Attorney Jack Frels said Hall, the government’s last witness, will begin testifying Monday.
Kettler testified for the third day as a government witness in the bribery trial of the 35-year-old Waco prosecutor.
Feazell, who is still district attorney, has denied the federal charges that he accepted bribes or illegal campaign contributions in exchange for his influence over criminal cases.
Kettler testified earlier that the firm charged higher fees for case dismissals after they made an agreement with the district attorney that Feazell would get one-third of fees on cases that he “handled.”
Kettler said that if the firm was unable to get a case dismissed or reduced to public intoxication, part of the fee was refunded. He repeated Thursday that he never actually saw Feazell receive any money.
“Vic would come in our office and he would go in Hall’s office and they would close the door,” Kettler said. “I knew that Hall had the money we had agreed to give Feazell.”
Kettler said he had heard Hall tell clients that he had an “in” with the district attorney’s office.
Under questioning, Kettler said he had a written agreement with the government to plead guilty to a felony charge of tax evasion on cash fees received that were never reported for income taxes.
Kettler has said the arrangement with Feazell ended in April 1985, when he heard that Feazell’s operations were being investigated.
The indictment against Feazell accuses him of taking $19,000 in bribes from a circle of Waco attorneys in exchange for dismissing charges against their clients or reducing punishments. A 10-count federal racketeering indictment also charges him with mail fraud.
Feazell says the charges were initiated by the Department of Public Safety, which he contends is seeking revenge because of his investigation into the Henry Lee Lucas case.
Lucas confessed to several murders, including two in Waco, and later recanted, throwing doubt on several DPS investigations.
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