Public Integrity Unit rejects DPS bid to reopen border contract probe
Gregg Cox, the Travis County prosecutor who oversees the embattled Public Integrity Unit, on Monday rejected a request from the Department of Public Safety to re-open an investigation into controversial border security contracts, telling Director Steve McCraw the unit does not have “sufficient staff or resources to accommodate your request at this time.”
On Friday, McCraw sent a sharply-worded letter to Cox, accusing him of turning more than $20 million in no-bid contracts with Abrams Learning and Information Systems into a “cause celeb” (sic) and offering to find ways to pay for an investigation. McCraw said the agency had been “much maligned” by “inaccurate reporting” and urged “a resolution to this matter once and for all.”
Cox said Monday that wouldn’t be possible, repeating his claim that then-Gov. Rick Perry’s funding veto in 2013 had resulted in the unit losing nearly half its staff. “Many difficult decisions had to be made regarding pending cases, and a number of important matters were closed due to the shortage of staff and resources,” Cox said.
“The PIU’s limited staff is working hard to handle its current caseload, and we cannot set other cases aside to take this matter on at this time.”
Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/state-regional/public-integrity-unit-rejects-dps-bid-to-reopen-bo/nkyTg/