Former Head of Dallas School Bus Agency Taken Down by Corruption Scandal Gets Probation for Tax Evasion

This report will be updated throughout the day.Larry Duncan, former board president of Dallas' now-defunct school bus agency, was sentenced Tuesday to six months of home confinement and three years of probation for cheating on his taxes by not reporting income from a vendor. Duncan also must pay $45,163 in restitution for the single count of tax evasion he pleaded guilty to in October. Duncan, 73, admitted to taking $245,000 in campaign contributions from Force Multiplier Solutions, a Dallas County Schools vendor, and spending most of that on personal expenses. Duncan is a former Dallas City Council member. He later led the board of Dallas County Schools, a public agency that provided bus service to Dallas ISD and several other school districts. Over several years, Dallas County Schools awarded $70 million in contracts to Force Multiplier Solutions for school bus cameras. Of the $245,000 that Duncan's campaign received from company associates, more than $184,000 went toward "car related expenses, cash withdrawals, money for Duncan and his wife, and other items which benefited Duncan personally," according to court filings. Duncan didn't report that money to the Internal Revenue Service. U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn also ordered Duncan to perform 200 hours of community service."Your legacy is tainted forever," Lynn told him during the sentencing hearing. Duncan had faced up to 12 months in federal prison. Lynn said she took into account his serious health issues. Last week, Lynn sentenced former Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway to 56 months in prison for his role in the $70 million corruption scandal that took down the school transportation agency. But Duncan was not charged with bribery or any other public corruption offenses, his attorney, Barry Sorrels, told the judge. In his plea for leniency, Sorrels told Lynn that his client, a decorated Vietnam veteran, spent a lifetime "helping people in need." "I take full responsibility for what I've done. No excuses," Duncan told Lynn. He also said he "embarrassed and humiliated" his family, friends and constituents and that he will spend the remainder of his life "working towards atonement."   Continue reading...