Criminal claims surface in civil matter as Pappas fights City of Houston to keep its contract at Hobby
Houston faces accusations over airport contract with Pappas Restaurant
Serious accusations are made against the City of Houston by Pappas Restaurants, a company that's been doing business in town for decades. FOX 26's Damali Keith reports on the story as the judge may be taking up a 'civil' matter but 'criminal' claims have been brought up.
HOUSTON - Serious accusations against the city by a company that's been doing business in town for decades, Pappas Restaurants. The judge may be taking up a 'civil' matter but 'criminal' claims have been brought up.
Pappas Restaurants is doing battle in civil court with the City of Houston over losing its contract in Hobby Airport, and allegations against a former City of Houston staffer, have surfaced, who's already facing federal corruption charges.
"We're just asking for status quo, let's stop, a pause, so we can look at this process," says Pappas Restaurants Attorney Rachel Hooper.
PREVIOUS STORY: Pappas Restaurants sues Houston over Hobby Airport contract
As May 11, the date Pappas has to be moved out of Hobby Airport creeps closer, the company is asking a judge to grant a Temporary Restraining Order because the restaurant owners say the contract was secured without following proper procedure.
"We believe the process at the city for this procurement was not fair, and we want it to be transparent and fair for everyone," Hooper adds.
The civil suit mentions the mayor's former top aide William Paul Thomas, who plead guilty last year to federal bribery charges after court records say he accepted thousands of dollars unrelated to this case, to help with things like securing permits and passing inspections for restaurants and bars.
Mr. Thomas contacted Mr. Pappas at home during a quiet period or a no-contact period. According to Hooper, Thomas wasn't supposed to reach out, but the lawsuit claims Thomas left a message for Chris Pappas in 2019 saying in part "...I want to visit with you regarding the upcoming airport concession at Hobby Airport. I had a great meeting with a couple of folks, and I'm going to share with you some of the thoughts we had.…"
Hooper says Pappas never returned the call.
"Under the Request For Proposal rules from the city in 2019 it says you are to have no contact between the city and any of the offerers, and we know that was violated," Hooper says.
The city maintains nothing improper occurred.
MORE: Houston City Council votes to remove Pappas from Hobby Airport
"We have a very sophisticated procurement group. They took a lot of time on this. The airport has done this several times. We think everything was done properly," says City Attorney Arturo Michel.
Pappas submitted a document Thursday saying Pappas faces "irreparable harm" including "business disruptions, loss of reputation and customer goodwill, loss of workforce…and general monetary damages" if Pappas has to be out of Hobby Airport by May 11, 2023.
UPDATE: Judge denies Pappas Restaurants' request to stall replacement at Hobby Airport amid lawsuit
The judge has denied Pappas Restaurants Temporary Restraining Order and ordered mediation, which is scheduled for next week. A Temporary Injunction hearing is set for April 26.