Bonus Episode 51 - Weird Scenes in Waco pt. 7: Prosecutorial Misconduct, feat. George from CAVDEF (Patreon)

(7 of 9)

The seventh episode in conversation with George of CAVDEF discussing Henry Lee Lucas. In this episode, we discuss the allegations of corruption made against the Waco DA. The DA insisted that these were false charges made in retaliation for his Lucas investigation, and he did win his criminal trial as well as a substantial libel verdict against the TV station reporting on the claims. We explore whether the claim of retaliation can truly be substantiated.

With the help of some new documents that he received, George outlines particular DUI and drug cases that became the basis for the bribery probe. We go through the DA's federal trial, disciplinary actions by the Texas bar, secret recordings, and the actions of particular lawyers close to the DA. This includes the two lawyers for Lake Waco defendant Anthony Melendez who encouraged him to plead guilty. Along the way, hints of interesting political connections to people like John Tower surface.

In wrapping up, we scrutinize the Waco DA's many statements about the Lake Waco murders, the Henry Lee Lucas case, and his own corruption investigation. Many of these claims were accepted uncritically by the Netflix documentary, but further research suggests another side to many of them.

George's Links:

https://twitter.com/CAVDEF_George

http://cavdef.org/w/index.php?title=Main_Page

http://blog.cavdef.org/

series art by Dakota

George's Notes:

• I was wrong in describing the Army Security Agency as a NSA predecessor; it was actually the opposite, with the ASA under the command of the NSA until its disbanding in 1976
• The DWI defendant referred to as Edwin Lloyd Perry in the DPS memo is called Lloyd Edward Perry in the Waco DA's federal trial; his real name is actually Loyd Edwin Perry
• Bill Johnston, the Waco PD legal adviser who was involved in this corruption investigation, is a somewhat inscrutable figure. Later appointed an Assistant US Attorney in Waco, he sponsored the dubious ATF warrant used to raid the Branch Davidians. On the flipside, he fought the FBI's destruction of evidence from the ATF shootout, and was the sole federal official to let filmmaker Mike McNulty look at evidence from the Mount Carmel assault (turning up proof that the FBI used incendiary devices). Johnston was the sole person prosecuted in John Danforth's special counsel investigation; he claimed to be a fall guy while the government claimed he tried to act like a whistleblower to hide his own role in covering up the use of pyrotechnics at Waco.
• In October 1986, the Waco DA's administrative assistant John Ben Sutter was quoted by the Baylor newspaper as saying that his boss would give some criminal defendants special consideration based on campaign contributions. This statement was denied by Sutter immediately afterwards.

Sources:

Depositions and other court filings from the Belo trial

CAVDEF section on the Waco DA's corruption scandal

Ron Boyter (Texas DPS) memo of April 26, 1985 regarding four DWI cases in McLennan County

Bill Johnston appearance before the federal grand jury in July 1985

D Magazine, "WAR IN WACO" by Carlton Stowers, 1985/10

Texas bar proceedings against the Waco DA and the five lawyers who testified against him

Overview of the Waco DA's testimony at his federal trial

Anthony Melendez clemency petition

Episode 51 Songs:

Hombre Honrado Los Hermanos Gutiérrez

Break Da Law ‘95 by Three 6 Mafia

Merch:

https://programmed-to-chill.myshopify.com/