Betting On The Sheriff, But Will That Be A Problem?
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Ed Gonzalez is the Sheriff in Harris County, but he may soon face questions about whether his campaign fundraising violated Texas criminal law.
The Sheriff has been raising money before the 2020 election, and as of December 9, 2019 he has more than a quarter of a million dollars on hand. Some of the money was raised at an October 2018 fundraiser at the American Shooting Center. The Gonzalez campaign paid nearly $14,000 for the event.
Will that campaign shooting party now have the Sheriff dodging legal bullets?
Dolcefino Consulting has now been given copies of raffle tickets reportedly handed out at that event. They all read: “Ed Gonzalez for Sheriff Sporting Clays Event Raffle Ticket.”
That could be a big problem.
Texas law only allows certain organizations to hold raffles or it is a violation of Texas gambling laws. A political campaign is not one of the organizations qualified to hold a raffle according to the Texas Attorney General. The Texas Penal Code makes it a crime to conduct an unauthorized raffle. If it turns out the raffle is a no-no, it may have been illegal for Gonzalez to accept the money raised that night in October.
There may be another problem. Dolcefino Consulting has confirmed from at least one source that he paid cash for the raffle ticket we have obtained, yet he is not identified in any campaign report filed by the Sheriff since the event.
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