NO-BILL, NO CHARGES, NO CASE
Former Visit Bastrop CEO Susan Smith was “no-billed” by the grand jury this week and the DA affirmed that no case was even brought against Lyle Nelson.
In a letter to Mayor Nelson’s attorney dated September 12, 2024, Greg Gilleland, First Assistant District Attorney of Bastrop County, stated “Ms. Susan Smith was NO BILLED by a Bastrop County Grand Jury on or about September 10th, 2024. There are, specifically, no cases in our office regarding your client Lyle Nelson.” (emphasis added)
ALL FOUR FLOORS OF THE HOUSE OF CARDS COLLAPSE
The investigation consisted of 4 parts which were defined by the Bastrop City Manager, as directed by the City Council. The investigation results below are the first floor in the House of Cards.
- “Assess any knowledge the Mayor held regarding misuse of public funds.” The report said, “The Mayor denied any knowledge of misuse of public funds, and my investigation to date uncovered no evidence otherwise.”
- Did the Mayor share confidential or legally privileged information with the CEO? The report said: “There is no evidence to date that Mayor Nelson shared any other confidential or legally privileged information with Smith.”
- “Did the Mayor participate in discussions regarding Visit Bastrop where he had a non-disclosed conflict of interest?” The report said: “Therefore, there is no discussion in which the Mayor participated in where he had Conflicting Interest, as that term is defined in the Code of Ethics.”
The fourth part was a highly improper inquiry by a governmental body. The City of Bastrop had no business spending public funds on such an investigation violating the privacy rights of Mayor Nelson and Ms. Smith. Mayor Nelson refused to waive his right of privacy by turning over his private texts. That totally justified refusal, was warped into the next floor in the House of Cards, an Ethics Complaint made by the City Council itself to the Ethics Commission the City Council appoints.
No evidence ever existed that Mayor Nelson engaged in any such behavior about any legitimate and legal part of the Glaser Investigation. And tellingly, no one conducting the criminal investigation into the use of the Visit Bastrop funds ever needed or subpoenaed those private text messages in order to determine if public funds were embezzled or misused.
The next floor of the House of Cards consisted of a reprimand by the City Council-appointed Ethics Commission.
Then the same Council Members leading the charge for the Glaser Investigation, then the Ethics Complaint, then added the last floor of the House of Cards by circulating a Recall Petition accusing Mayor Nelson of “interfering in an investigation into misuse of public funds by his girlfriend.”
TAXPAYERS ON THE HOOK FOR $137,070.40 AND COUNTING
Attorney Bill Aleshire opined “It is time for transparency, particularly with the requested records and correspondence between the City Manager and Visit Bastrop, to show the House of Cards was built on false assumptions despite costing taxpayers over $137,070.40 for the audit, investigation, and attorney fees.”