John Wiley Price Won't Be Retried, Feds Announce

Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price will not be retried on any charges related to his corruption case, federal prosecutors announced Friday. U.S. Attorney John Parker said he's "disappointed" in the not-guilty and hung jury verdicts from Price's trial, however he decided that "pursuing another trial against Mr. Price will not serve the interests of justice." Prosecutors are also dropping their case against political consultant Kathy Nealy, Price's longtime associate who was accused of bribing him. Price was accused of taking nearly $1 million in bribes from her in exchange for helping her clients with contracts and other lucrative approvals. Parker said his decision is "fundamentally different" from prosecutors' initial choice to bring charges against Price, and "in no way reflects on the soundness of that earlier decision" since he had new information to consider. Prosecutors believe their chance to win at trial has been "substantially diminished," Parker said. In 2014, Price was indicted on 11 counts including bribery, filing false tax returns and mail fraud. At the time, Parker said, the evidence "demanded that this office pursue this case." However, he added, "it is never our responsibility to secure a conviction at all costs." He added that he was proud of the federal investigators and prosecutors who handled the case. He said they "never shrunk from the challenges inherent in what everyone knew was going to be a difficult and polarizing trial." More to come.  Continue reading...