News Herald
June 9, 1987
Attorney: Feazell got cash donations
By Liz Galtney
AUSTIN (UPI) – A Waco attorney told a federal court jury he and his partner gave a $10,000 campaign contribution, mostly in cash, to McLennan County District Attorney Vic Feazell because they “needed to be in his corner.”
But following a federal grand jury investigation of fraud and bribery charges, Feazell later acknowledged receiving only $1,000 of the gift, attorney Ron Moody testified Monday in Feazell’s trial.
Feazell is on trial for fraud, racketeering and bribery charges stemming from cash payments he allegedly received from attorneys in return for dropping criminal charges, primarily drunken driving cases.
Federal prosecutors allege Feazell’s claims that the payments were campaign contributions is false since the monies were not reported on the district attorney’s campaign finance reports.
At a 1984f meeting with Feazell, Moody said he and his partner agreed to contribute $5,000 to the district attorney’s campaign. Moody said he agreed to write a check for $400, and that Feazell wanted the remainder in cash.
On cross examination by defense attorney Gary Richardson, Moody said, “I didn’t see anything wrong with making a cash campaign contribution.”
Moody, who is testifying under immunity from prosecution on certain tax evasion charges, said that the discrepancy over how much was paid to Feazell came up last year during a meeting in the district attorney’s office.
Moody said he and his partner, Ken Crow, gave Feazell $9,000 in cash and a $1,000 in checks made out to Feazell’s campaign after he took office in 1983.
But in the 1986 meeting, Moody said, Feazell took a list from his desk and said, “You’ve only given me $1,000. You’re small contributors compared with some other people.”
I knew that was not correct,” Moody said. “I knew I had given him more than $1,000.”
Previous testimony alleged that Feazell kept a “blacklist” of attorneys with whom his office would not cooperated.
“The reason I gave him the money was to help him retire his campaign debt,” Moody said. “I didn’t know the man very well, but based on some of the things I’d heard, I decided I wanted to be on the right side of the fence.
“You can’t practice criminal law without being able to talk to the district attorney. I heard about a blacklist, and you can’t practice law that way,” Moody said.
Government prosecutors claim Feazell accepted up to $19,000 in bribes from a group of Waco attorneys – including some former law associates – in return for dismissing criminal cases.
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