Pastor, Friend Differ on Whether ex-Richardson Mayor’s Rushed Marriage With Developer Was Love Or Bribery Defense

SHERMAN - A federal jury heard more testimony Wednesday suggesting that the marriage between Richardson’s ex-mayor and a developer was a sham intended to cover up bribes he allegedly gave her in exchange for her votes on his controversial project in the city.The developer, Mark Jordan, married Laura Maczka in June 2017 in a small ceremony with seven others in attendance, according to the pastor who handled it. Lillian Smith testified that she had just four days to prepare. That’s how much advance notice Maczka, her longtime friend, gave her, she told jurors.Laura, now known as Laura Jordan, and Mark Jordan have argued during their federal bribery trial -- in its third week in Sherman -- that their hidden affair was about true love and that her support for his Palisades mixed-use development as mayor in 2013 and 2014 had nothing to do with bribery.But another one of Laura Jordan’s close friends and neighbors, Michelle Altom, told jurors on Wednesday that Laura Jordan confided in her about the true nature of her relationship with the developer during a lunch at a Plano restaurant in September 2015.  Continue reading...