Harris Co. bid-rigging case: Judge Hidalgo's former chief of staff has 2 charges dismissed

HOUSTON - Two felony charges of misuse of official information have been dismissed against Alex Triantaphyllis, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s former chief of staff who was charged in connection to an alleged bid-rigging case, court records show.

The charges were dismissed on Thursday, when Triantaphyllis appeared in court.  Court records still show an active charge of felony tampering with a record.

Rather than a trial, he agreed to one day of community service for the felony charge.

FOX 26 reached out to the Texas Attorney General's Office for a response. The following was sent by Josh Reno, Deputy Attorney General for Criminal Justice:

"A joint investigation into public corruption in Harris County conducted by the Texas Rangers and the Criminal Prosecutions Division of the Office of Attorney General has reached resolution in the cases involving Alex Triantaphyllis and two other low level county staffers. This joint investigation was rigorous and discovered new information from witness interviews, which was corroborated with physical evidence. This new information, which was not presented to the grand jury, critically affected the ability to substantiate certain elements of the crimes required to meet the State’s high burden of proof. Our fight against government corruption is not over, and we will vigorously prosecute those who abuse our tax dollars when the evidence meets the standard required by law."

3 staffers charged in 2022

The backstory:

Triantaphylis was one of three staffers charged in the case. Charges of felony tampering with government documents and misuse of official information were dropped against Wallis Nader and Aaron Dunn last week.

In 2022, Nader, Dunn and Triantaphylis were named in a felony criminal indictment.

They were accused of orchestrating a bid-rigging scheme to steer the multi-million dollar contract to a little known, one-woman firm with few resources and extensive connections to Democratic political campaigns.

The indictment came after a controversial $11 million Harris County COVID-19 contract was given to "Elevate Strategies LLC", an operation that, at the time, had been in existence barely two years and was based at a residential apartment complex in Montrose.

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Hidalgo and the court quickly canceled the contract after pressure.

What they're saying:

Last week, FOX 26 spoke with Dunn's attorney, Derek Hollingsworth, who said his client broke no laws and was "collateral damage" in a political vendetta aimed at Hidalgo.

"I know that people will roll their eyes about this, but I truly believe this was a political prosecution meant to get back at Judge Hidalgo. I'm really glad we got to the result we did, which was law enforcement authorities finally rolled up their sleeves and saw it for what it was, nothing," said Hollingsworth, who predicted charges will also be dropped against Triantaphyllis.

Taxpayers could pick up legal tab

Local perspective:

As a result of this criminal case dismissal, Harris County taxpayer will likely pick up a very large legal tab. Under a policy approved by Harris County Commissioners, workers who are prosecuted or sued for actions taken during the course of their employment and later cleared are entitled to full reimbursement for the cost of their legal defense.

"This is a perfect case where that's a valid policy. If you are being prosecuted solely because you happen to be a County employee and it was determined later, as it was here, that case had no merit and should be dismissed, then you shouldn't have to incur your own legal fees," said Hollingsworth.

‘Reputations have been ruined’ 

What they're saying:

Judge Hidalgo responded to the dismissed charges in a press conference on Thursday. She stood by her staff members and continued to claim they were innocent.

"Alex, Wallis and Aaron saw their lives and reputations destroyed. They had their mugshots plastered all over TV...and false accusations against them were profiled on multiple political campaigns. These innocent public servants had the Texas Rangers raid their homes before dawn with police lights on with their children and family's home... I and my team provided very clear evidence that what was being alleged was entirely false and merely a political prosecution," she said.

Judge Hidalgo also pointed blame at Former District Attorney Kim Ogg and others, saying they wasted time and money on the case. The case was initially handled by Ogg, but she later turned it over to the Texas Attorney General's Office, which has now dropped the charges.

"Kim Ogg wasted millions of taxpayer dollars and the time of prosecutors, judges and our entire justice system," said Judge Hidalgo. "Over three years have gone by. All these years and millions of dollars wasted later, we're still at the point we were on the morning of November 16, 2021, before all this happened...the cases have been dismissed. All these people are innocent. The only thing that's changed is their lives and reputations have been ruined."

We reached out to former DA Kim Ogg for comment, but she hasn't released a statement yet.

Dig deeper:

• $11 million Harris County COVID-19 contract drawing scrutiny, concern
• Harris County Judge grilled following 'bid rigging' allegations
• Hidalgo staffer implicated in 'bid-rigging' scandal gets new, higher paying County job
• 3 Harris County Judge staffers named in felony indictments over controversial contract