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A trustee at Houston Community College was convicted of bribery related to his position at the institution and is facing up to 10 years in prison, local media reported Friday.
Chris Oliver, 53, of Houston, admitted accepting cash payments and Visa gift cards totaling $12,000 for promises to help another person secure contracts with HCC, according to The Houston Chronicle. Oliver pleaded guilty in May, having been charged in March; the case was unsealed Friday.
Oliver is still listed as the vice chair of the Board of Trustees on HCC's website. An email sent to the board's chairwoman, Eva Loredo, regarding whether Oliver is still a board member was not immediately returned, although she told the Chronicle that the board "will wait for court proceedings to be complete before we make any further statement."
In 2015, HCC reached a settlement with the former system chancellor, who, in a lawsuit, said she was fired when the HCC Board of Trustees learned she talked to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about potential misuses of bond money and efforts by trustees to steer money and business to friends and political allies, according to the Chronicle.
