Jury gets case in bribery trial of ex-Richardson mayor and her developer husband
SHERMAN, Texas – Laura Maczka was first time mayor, made $ 2,600 a year, had three children and a mortgage, and was worried about the exterior.
The Richardson mother quit her charitable job to avoid potential conflicts as a high-ranking official in the city, prosecutors said on Friday during the closing arguments of her trial.
Mark Jordan came from another world. As a wealthy businessman, he has developed a taste for luxury and expensive things, the government said.
According to the prosecutor, he was also a womanizer. And he wanted to develop a prime lot he’d bought in Maczkas town off busy Interstate 75. But there was a problem: the majority of Laura’s neighbors, according to testimonies, strongly opposed new apartments nearby.
What happened next is at the center of a lewd and high-profile public corruption trial at the federal level involving the former mayor and the contractor. Both are on trial. The government accuses bribery, fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy.
The jury began its deliberations Friday afternoon after hearing testimony and evidence for three weeks; and after the attorneys made their final pitches in closing arguments.
Prosecutors say Maczka, now Laura Jordan, received attention, sex, $ 18,000 in cash, $ 40,000 in check, a Mercedes convertible, and $ 24,000 in home renovations from Mark Jordan in exchange for her votes on his project.
She voted for his Palisades development during her two-year tenure as mayor despite promising to stand up to new homes and fierce opposition from hundreds of homeowners nearby, some of whom had been her friends, the government claims.
All in all, the value of the benefits she accepted – but not publicly disclosed – amounted to at least $ 130,000, US Assistant Attorney Anand Varadarajan said.
That included at least a dozen trips to exotic locations, usually in fabulous accommodations overlooking the ocean, he said.
But there were intangible benefits too: his attention, affection, and the sex they had in fancy hotels, said U.S. Assistant Attorney Heather Rattan.
The many lies the couple told the city and their families and friends were meant to hide more than their adulterous affair, they said.
They called it bribes.
“The cover-up is part of the crime,” Varadarajan told the jury.
But the defense lawyers said they were gifts from a lover in love to his girlfriend and had nothing to do with their votes.
They also argued that Laura publicly supported the Palisades project before she even met Mark because it was intelligently planned, in a traffic corridor with mixed uses such as retail and green spaces.
“She knew it was good for the city,” said Jeff Kearney, Laura’s attorney. “Mark didn’t have to bribe Laura.”
The couple’s lawyers admitted their clients’ flaws – the trail of fraud and lies linked to their infidelity. But they accused the government of trying to turn a love affair into a serious federal crime.
“Maybe he’s a narrator,” said Dan Cogdell, an attorney for Mark. “Maybe he should learn to keep his zipper up.”
Kearney said his client should “probably” have disclosed her relationship with Mark. But he asked the jury to put aside government talk of lies and adultery.
“Don’t let all of this get you bogged down,” he said. “That’s not what this case is about.”
Laura married Mark in 2017 – an act the government calls part of the cover-up – and she still works for his company.
This is your second attempt. You were convicted for the first time in 2019. However, US District Judge Amos Mazzant ordered a new trial after defense lawyers complained about unduly influencing a jury. It was based on a remark made by a court security officer who tried to reassure the troubled and indecisive jury hours before the verdict.
“Take bullets”
Laura Jordan was elected mayor in May 2013 after running on a platform targeting apartments near houses.
A videotape played for the jury showed how they listened as Mark Jordan addressed the Richardson City Council and described his billion dollar project as “biblical” in its breath and scope.
She later told him in “flirtatious” emails that she “shot” bullets for him at heated community meetings about his Palisades development and his apartments, which people fought so hard against.
Kearney said the two worked closely on the project and a relationship had developed. Rattan told jurors the two exchanged over 200 texts and calls before the palisades were even submitted to the city council for approval.
The first vote in the Council took place in December 2013. Laura kept “turning her voice” back to 2015 despite knowing that her neighbors strongly disliked the Palisades, Rattan said.
In January 2014, their relationship was sexual, prosecutors say. And the gifts increased.
Rattan told the jury that benefits granted in a bribery conspiracy can be given both before and after an official act such as a vote.
In around mid-2015, a state investigation into the couple’s affairs was leaked. Mark kept a former federal judge. His suggestion: If you gave her an engagement ring, that would be pretty good for our case, the prosecutor said.
“The seeds have been sown,” said Varadarajan in his closing argument.
But marriage is not possible immediately, he said. Markus was still married.
Laura won re-election but chose to step down and chose Mark instead, defenders said.
Meanwhile, Mark was trying to cheat on one mistress with another. Laura found out about his failed attempt in 2016 with the woman, a former lover and business partner.
Cogdell told the jury that they “may not like him,” but his client’s sexual indiscretions are not evidence of corruption. And Mark still loved Laura, he added, even though he was a “Cad”.
“He’s got warts,” he said. “Whatever he is, he is not guilty of this offense.”
Laura told the jury on Thursday, her second day of testifying, that it was a moment of “weakness” and that she had forgiven him. But prosecutors called it another piece of evidence of their fake love affair.
And when the couple learned that Mark’s ex-wife was speaking at a federal court hearing in May 2017, a minister was hired and days later the couple married, Rattan told jurors.
Former Richardson Mayor Laura Jordan demolishing a hotel while in office.
Real love?
Varadarajan told the jury the case was about “corrupting the integrity of the vote.”
He said Laura wasn’t just drawn to Mark; she liked his money and his lifestyle.
With every vote Laura cast for his Palisades project, the gain in benefits he gave her increased, Varadarajan said.
Love or friendship is not a defense against bribery as long as the intention was to influence their voice, he said.
“We have lie for lie for lie,” said Varadarajan. “We are dealing with demanding people … This is the real world. Business is done under the table, with a wink and a nod. “
Laura lied that Mark paid for her extensive renovations, he said. Mark hid his gifts to her from an ethical investigation in the city as well as a divorce court.
Had Laura withdrawn or voted against Mark’s development, would he have pursued her further and showered her with gifts?
“The answer is absolutely not,” said Varadarajan.
But Kearney said two of the couple’s six children testified during the trial that the blended family’s household was full of real love.
“It’s not a bribe. It’s a love affair. And it’s real, ”he said.
Cogdell told jurors there was no evidence his client had a romantic relationship with Laura prior to their first vote on the Palisades Project in December 2013.
He said Mark’s stake in Palisades was relatively small; he had invested about $ 115,000. And he furiously beat up the prosecutors for claiming Laura was a gold digger.
“Too bad about her,” he said in a booming voice. “It’s not like she’s crawling out of the ghetto.”
Mark’s government secret records – taken by a abandoned ex-lover turned FBI informant – were pretty stupid and of no help to either side.
The defense noted that there were no “gotcha” moments. But prosecutors said Mark was aware of a state investigation at the time and was careful with his words.
Rattan said he had good reason to believe it was taped.
“Deny, deny, deny,” she said.
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