HOUSTON — A former Houston Health Department administrator faces up to a decade in federal prison after pleading guilty to bribery.
Barry Barnes, 62, was part of a kickback scheme from March 2019 to March 2021, U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery said Thursday. He accepted bribes from three businesses applying for health department contracts, according to the feds.
Editor's note: The video above originally aired in February 2022.
FBI agents raided the Houston Health Department's administrative offices in southwest Houston last February as part of the investigation. They were seen carrying several boxes out of the building and Barnes was later charged.
Barnes pleaded guilty to bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and could get up to 10 years behind bars and a $250,000 maximum fine.
“This office has an unyielding commitment to attack public corruption at any level. The people of the Southern District of Texas deserve an environment in which public officials are held to the highest standards,” Lowery said. “This prosecution should send a clear message that we will find and hold accountable any public official who abuses the public trust.”
Barnes made sure the businesses were chosen for lucrative marketing, advertising and media contracts in exchange for a cut of their profits and cash payments.
After the February raid, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the city was cooperating with the investigation.
"The city has 21,000 employees. You never want that to occur. You certainly don’t want that to occur in the City of Houston," Turner said. "Everyone knows what the rules and the regulations are. They should be held to that and we’ll see where the investigation goes."
Barnes will be sentenced next January.