(Texas Scorecard) – A jury has found former Houston Independent School District Chief Operating Officer Brian Busby and HISD vendor Anthony Hutchison guilty on 33 federal charges after a sweeping corruption trial.
After a weeks-long trial, a jury deliberated for just six hours before finding Busby and Hutchison guilty on all 33 federal charges, including bribery, conspiracy, filing false tax returns, and witness tampering.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, the jury heard testimony from more than 50 witnesses, including five former Houston ISD officials. Those officials—Rhonda Skillern Jones (former HISD Board of Education president), Derrick Sanders (officer of Construction Services), Alfred Hoskins (general manager of Facilities, Maintenance, and Operations), Gerron Hall (south-area manager for Maintenance), and Luis Tovar (north-area manager for Maintenance)—all admitted to accepting bribes.
Each described how Busby pressured them to steer more Houston ISD work, including high-value projects after Hurricane Harvey, to Hutchison’s various companies. Over several years, these officials received tens of thousands of dollars in payments in exchange for awarding contracts.
Alfred Hoskins testified that despite significantly higher costs, Busby regularly pressured his maintenance team to select Hutchison’s company, Just Construction, bypassing standard bid or rotation procedures in the process.
Prosecutors presented extensive evidence showing that one of Hutchison’s companies, Southwest Wholesale, was the exclusive provider of mowing and landscaping services for Houston ISD. Over several years, Hutchison not only overbilled the district for maintaining approximately 150 schools but also charged more than double the actual cost of supplies, resulting in a total loss exceeding $6 million.
Further evidence revealed that both men made multiple undeclared deposits and submitted false deductions on their tax returns, concealing millions of dollars in income.
Hoskins also testified about efforts to interfere with the investigation. He recounted a phone call from Busby instructing him to tell investigators that Hutchison’s contract awards were not made under Busby’s direction.
At the trial’s conclusion, U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei stated, “Busby and Hutchison defrauded the school district and the taxpayers of millions of dollars, doing so to line their own pockets. People need to have faith in their public institutions, and they can become understandably cynical when they hear of public servants stealing from school kids by taking bribes and over-billing.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams of the Houston Field Office added, “For years, Busby and Hutchison defrauded the largest public school system in Texas out of millions of dollars—money that was intended to benefit the students of HISD. In turn, they also defrauded the taxpayers whose hard-earned dollars were fraudulently diverted for their greed and personal gain. Public corruption cases like this one are challenging to investigate and prove and erode the trust we place in our public servants. Today’s guilty verdict is a step toward justice.”
Busby and Hutchison now face potential sentences of 5, 10, and 20 years, respectively, for conspiracy, bribery, and witness tampering charges. Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000.
Additionally, Hutchison faces up to 20 years for each of seven counts of wire fraud.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 28 with U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen.