Texas Rangers asked to investigate Colorado County land deal
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The Colorado County District Attorney has asked the Texas Rangers to probe the controversial County Road 79 land deal.
The move comes days after Dolcefino Consulting raised questions about the timing of real estate transactions involving the family of County Judge Ty Prause.
By now the details of this fight near Eagle Lake are becoming well known. Groups representing half a million Texans are on the side of a landowner fighting the takeover of an abandoned trail on her property for a needless extension of County Road 79.
It appears the main beneficiary of the road deal is Alleyton Resources, a big player in those parts.
That’s why the real estate transactions are raising questions.
In July of 2013, after Colorado County adopted a new road map for the county, Schindler Land and Cattle sold 77 acres worth about $600,000 to Darcy Todd Barten, former President of Alleyton. Schindler is a limited partnership of the Prause family. Prause voted on the 79 Road Deal, and never mentioned the prior real estate deal.
The timing of another real estate transaction is also being questioned by landowner Leslie Matthews Carey, who is waging a legal battle with the county over the road deal.
Matthews sued Waller County on February 9th of 2015. Records show Judge Prause offered to change his vote but then changed his mind days later. On February 24th, just days later, the Judge’s mom sold her home to Darmore, an investment company owned by Darcy Todd Barten.
The judge says the transactions have nothing to do with the 79 Road deal and that’s why phone records are important. The Judge says he couldn’t provide us phone records around the time without a subpoena for ATT.
That is one of the reasons the District Attorney is asking for an investigation.
And it is not the only real estate deal involving Colorado County officials that deserve scrutiny. Stay tuned.
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