U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks appointed Abe Hernandez to Morales' case last week. But he also issued an order expressing "grave concerns" that Morales was entitled to an attorney at the government's expense. Morales says he doesn't need him. I question the judge's logic for doing so, also. As well as charges that he and friend Marc Murr tried to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars for Murr in legal fees resulting from the state's $17.3 billion settlement with the tobacco industry in 1998, the 12-count indictment alleges Morales filed a false tax return, that in 1998 he contracted to buy a $775,000 house in Travis County, that he used $400,000 in campaign funds for the purchase and home improvements, and that he made false statements to get a $600,000 mortgage.
Posted by Tiger at April 28, 2003 09:27 PM | TrackBack