Council Members Object To Payments To Recently Indicted Attorney

PASADENA, TX — A routine payment from the city to a local attorney who has been contracted for more than 20 years to collect delinquent taxes, ignited a heated debate between members of the city council and Mayor Jeff Wagner during Tuesday’s council meeting.

The payment, which was for just a little over $116 paid to attorney Roy Mease and his law firm, was hardly the issue of contention with council members, but the recent indictment handed down for violating a state statute was.

Mease, who served as the chairman of the Pasadena Economic Development Corporation in 2016, was among six who were indicted by a Harris County grand jury for violating the Texas Open Meetings Act.

Mease and others are alleged to have held several private meetings related to development at the Pasadena Conventon Center and rodeo arena.

READ: Former Pasadena EDC Board Members Indicted

According to a Houston Chronicle report, council members Sammy Casados and Cody Ray Wheeler objected to the payment, with Casados calling for Mease’s resignation and urging the council to consider vetting other law firms.

Casados’ comments drew a sharp retort from Wagner, who reminded the council that an indictment was not a conviction.

Despite objections from Casados and Wheeler, the council approved the payments to Mease.

A violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act is a misdemeanor punishable of up to six months in jail and a $500 fine.

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