HOUSTON Former Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole was sentenced to three years probation Wednesday for making a false statement to the FBI.
Eversole pleaded guilty to the charge on September 30, 2011, a day before he officially resigned from Harris County Commissioners Court.
As part of his plea deal, authorities agreed to drop bribery and conspiracy charges against the former commissioner, as well as two counts of filing false income tax returns.
A federal judge declared a mistrial on those charges in March of 2011, after jurors became deadlocked.
The case against Eversole stemmed from his relationship with county contractor Michael Surface.
Prosecutors alleged that Eversole accepted bribes from Surface everything from vacations, to clothing, to a down payment on his house in exchange for his support on county contracts worth tens of millions of dollars.
Eversole s attorneys argued that the gifts were simply the result of a long-term friendship between the two.
Surface, who pleaded guilty to filing a false income tax return related to the gifts, was also sentenced to three years probation on Wednesday.
It s a valuable lesson for all that once the federal government gets their hooks in you, they will exact a tremendous toll, Surface s attorney, Chip Lewis, said.
Eversole s attorney, Rusty Hardin, said he was pleased by the judge s decision to keep his client out of jail.
We very much appreciate how conscientious the judge was about looking at everything, and we re delighted with the result, Hardin said.
Eversole could have faced up to five years in prison.
Prosecutors did not comment after the sentencing, but they did tell the judge that they thought jail time was warranted.
Prosecutors still believe Eversole and Surface exchanged political favors and more than $100,000 something they could not prove to a jury.
