Courier-Times Telegraph
June 5, 1987
Feazell Associate Allegedly Arranged To Drop Charges
AUSTIN (UPI) – A Waco man told a federal court jury Thursday that a former law associate of McLennan County District Attorney Vic Feazell arranged to have charges of possession of synthetic heroin dismissed.
Tom Harris, who is serving a prison sentence for a forgery conviction, said he hired Dick Kettler, an attorney who once shared law offices with Feazell, to arrange for the dismissal of 1984 charges against him for possession of synthetic heroin with intent to distribute.
“Do you know what happened to your case?” asked assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Frels.
“All I know is that I just don’t have to go to court,” Harris said.
Feazell is on trial for federal charges of racketeering, mail fraud and bribery.
The government has named Kettler as one of an “inner circle” of attorneys who allegedly paid Feazell $19,000 in kickbacks in return for dismissal of criminal charges, primarily drunken driving cases.
Kettler is expected to testify as a government witness under immunity from prosecution.
Harris said when Kettler visited him in prison, “He told me he didn’t want me to talk to narcotics agents about why the case had been dismissed.”
Harris said he paid Kettler $3,7000 cash to handle the case.
Clients of Kettler and Don Hall, his law partner, also testified how the attorneys arranged to have drunken driving charges against them dismissed.
Hall is also expected to testify on behalf of the government with immunity from prosecution.
Henry Morrow of Waco testified that Hall told him he could pay a $350 fee and serve probation, or he could pay $2,500 and have the drunken driving charge dismissed. Morrow said he paid the $2,500 and the charges were dropped.
The government alleges the attorneys charged high fees, mostly paid in cash, in order to kickback payments to Feazell in return for dropping of charges.
In previous testimony, attorney Dick Clark said during meetings in which case dismissals were discussed, he paid Feazell $4,000 in cash as a campaign contribution.
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