This morning a commenter calling him or herself "Retired Therapist" had this to say...
"Man, this MHMR agency just cannot seem to get quality leadership and to keep its nose clean. I'm retired now but was doing some contracting with Tarrant Co. MHMR Services in the late 1980's and early 1990's when then CEO Kilpatrick was caught in a criminal investigation by the DA's office and the state agency. To borrow from Yogi Berra, this current scandal sounds like deja vu all over again."
The District Attorney referred to by Retired Therapist is since deceased, Tim Curry. In 2006 Tim Curry faced a tough re-election battle with attorney Terri Moore challenging him.
The October 25, 2006 issue of FW Weekly had a very long article about the District Attorney election battle titled "Curry vs. Moore" in which the 1989 MHMR Scandal is mentioned.
Below is an excerpt from the FW Weekly article, which you can read in its entirety by clicking on the "Curry vs. Moore" link....
After the debate, Curry told the Weekly that Williams, a prominent local automobile dealer and long-time financial supporter of President George Bush, was one of the MHMR board members he had investigated. The day after the debate, he answered more questions by e-mail. He recounted how MHMR executive director Lloyd Kilpatrick was indicted for theft by a public servant, pleaded guilty, and received a one-year probated sentence.
A 1989 official audit report from the state MHMR agency, obtained by the Weekly, showed that Kilpatrick had taken illegal payments via a bloated compensation package he’d set up for himself with the board’s approval. The report also described how he’d rigged bids for favored vendors and how he and the board had engaged in what the report called “questionable practices” by giving “preferential treatment” to the board chairman (Williams, although the report does not name him). Specifically, the report said, the board OK’d the purchase of 31 vehicles at a cost of $352,000 from Williams’ car dealership. The report said the board failed to seek bids for the auto purchases, a violation of the agency’s bidding policies and state law and a serious conflict of interest for the board chairman.
County records show that Williams, appointed to the MHMR board by the Tarrant County commissioners in 1981, resigned that position on Dec. 18, 1989 — ll days after the report was placed in commissioners’ hands. The auditors recommended that commissioners “provide the District Attorney of Tarrant County with information contained in the report” for an investigation into possible criminal activities. Kilpatrick was the only person prosecuted, and there is no record that any money was ever repaid.
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It does seem like deja vu all over again.
Except the current Paradise Center/MHMR Scandal is much worse, in that the misbehaving MHMR executive's scandalous behavior in 2011 hurt the very people it is their job to help.
