Dallas reparations scheme goes awry

The federal corruption trial of prominent black Dallas politicians has gotten underway. It seems that the alleged bribe-demanders were, in a manner of speaking, simply trying to achieve racial justice and gain reparations on behalf of their people. From the Dallas Morning News story:

The prosecution in the corruption trial of former Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill and others gave jurors a tantalizing glimpse of what authorities called a web of intrigue in which black leaders solicited bribes from white developers because, they said, it was time for those developers to pay.

"The game has done changed," defendant Darren Reagan is heard saying on an audio tape played during opening statements by the prosecution.

Defense opening statements were taking place this afternoon. In a surprising development, Hill's attorney, Ray Jackson, said his client would take the stand during the trial.

Prosecutors say Reagan used the Black State Employees Association, which represented no employees but orchestrated protests, to put pressure on white developers to pay bribes to Hill and others.

Reagan is heard saying on the recording that white developers had become wealthy off southern Dallas projects, and that it was time for them to pay.

On the wiretap recording, prosecutors say, Reagan is plotting with Allen McGill -- who has already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion -- to squeeze money from Bill Fisher, a white developer who is the principal informant in the government's case.

"I love to see old Bill sweating like a pig," Reagan says to McGill on the recording, adding that, "the days of offering a few donations are over."

Prosecutors allege that hundreds of thousands of dollars ended up in the hands of Hill or the other defendants, much of it bribes from developer Brian Potashnik and his wife Cheryl.

It will be fun to listen to the defendants explain how shaking down Whitey for personal bribes benefits the black community in southern Dallas at large. I suspect they'll need to call the highly skilled and experienced Rev. Jackson to get pointers in how to launder this scuzzy (alleged) behavior, and make it seem like virtue.