Former Houston Public Works Manager Patrece Lee has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for bribery after pleading guilty.

The Harris County District Attorney’s office dropped four other felony charges in exchange for Lee pleading guilty to bribery.

Lee reportedly masterminded a multimillion-dollar scheme to enrich herself, her friends, and her family with taxpayer dollars by illegally funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to herself via her brother’s business account.

According to the investigation, Lee was the only person responsible for verifying information regarding potential vendors of Houston Public Works. Since she was charged, Houston Public Works said the process has been changed to require more than one person to sign off on vendor contracts.

Seven people were charged in connection with the scheme. The Harris County District Attorney’s office has reached plea deals with six out of the seven people charged.

Lee was accused of offering illegal consulting to vendors looking to get a contract from the city by using her private company KB3 Construction to take payment from the companies.

Investigators believe Lee solicited bribes to help vendors get favorable treatment, such as getting paid faster or receiving larger city contracts.

She allegedly received $320,000 in bribes from at least 4 different vendors to obtain contracts from the city.

As part of her plea deal, she will serve 10 years in prison and agreed to testify against the other defendants, including her brother if needed.

“This is an outcome that I am extremely happy with, and I think it sends a message about how serious [sic] we take these types of cases. This is not a plea bargain in the person that we deem as one of the most culpable in this scheme that’s a slap on the wrist. This is 10 years in prison,” said Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare.

Danielle Hurts was accused of being Lee’s dedicated collection agent for the consulting business. She pleaded guilty to a felony charge of abuse of official capacity and agreed to a 10-year sentence. Judge Veronica Nelson reduced the sentence to 6-month probation and ordered her to pay $50,000 in restitution.

Andrew Thomas is Lee’s brother. KPRC investigator Amy Davis revealed last year that Lee awarded him a $4.5 million contract for waterline inspections. Thomas pleaded guilty to attempted bribery, a third-degree felony in exchange for dropping first-degree felony charges of abuse of official capacity and bribery.

The judge set Thomas’ sentence to 3 years of probation and 80 hours of community service.

Business owners Tieasha Coleman-Houston and Edelmiro Castillo both struck plea bargains, pleading guilty to “public servant acceptance of gifts”—a class A misdemeanor.

Castillo reportedly paid Lee $117,000 just before receiving a contract worth more than $1 million.

The Houston Public Works scandal is just one of several high-profile corruption cases in the city’s recent history.

In 2024, a major scandal involving the Midtown Redevelopment Authority led to the arrest of real estate manager Todd Edwards and two contractors on charges of allegedly laundering $8 million in public funds to buy expensive cars, homes, and lavish trips.

Joseph Trimmer

Joseph is a journalist for Texas Scorecard reporting from Houston. With a background in business, Joseph is passionate about covering issues impacting citizens.

RELATED POSTS