Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price asked a federal judge on Wednesday to postpone his corruption trial, adding another legal twist and potential delay to the years-long case.
Price’s trial was finally set to start next month after numerous delays.
His attorneys argue it should be postponed again after one of Price’s co-defendants, his former political consultant Kathy Nealy, was granted a separate trial and is now unable to testify in his case.
Prosecutors accuse Price of accepting about $1 million in bribes that were paid by county contractors and then funneled through Nealy.
Last week, Judge Barbara Lynn separated Nealy’s case because of questions about immunity she received when she cooperated with the FBI and testified for prosecutors in another corruption case involving former Dallas city leaders.
Prosecutors said in court that Nealy was granted immunity in that case, but they never put the agreement in writing, explaining whether it was broad immunity covering any potential crimes she had committed, or something more narrow, the judge said in her order.
With Nealy’s case split, a third co-defendant, Price’s assistant Dapheny Fain, also is set to go on trial with Price.
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Her attorneys also asked for a delay in the trial.
“As even the most cursory examination of the indictment reveals, Ms. Nealy is central, indeed essential, to the accusations against defendants Price and Fain,” their attorneys said. “It is, after all, she who deals with the businesses for whom she consults on the one hand and the elected official on the other. Without the assertions about Ms. Neely, no crimes are alleged.”
Price’s and Fain’s attorneys said it’s unlikely Neely’s lawyers would allow her to testify since her case will not have been resolved by then.
Prosecutors did not immediately file a response but opposed separating Nealy’s case.
