Practice What You Preach
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You can look all the way back to the Bible and find stories of brother versus brother, but more recently sibling rivalries end up getting hashed out in sports, or courtrooms.
This week the brothers Hotze will square off in front of Harris County Judge Fredericka Phillips for control of their father’s company.
Mark, Richard and Steve Hotze are accused of trying to oust their brothers Bruce and David to gain control of Compressor Engineering Corporation, the company their dad Ernest Hotze founded back in 1964.
Court documents accuse Mark, Richard and Steve of breach of fiduciary duties and several types of fraud.
Representing the three brothers is John Zavitsanos, a Democrat whose law firm was the top contributor to Judge Phillips’ 2016 campaign. That doesn’t jive with Steve Hotze’s rhetoric of conservative and republican Christian values.
“If family values mean gypping your brothers out of the family company, I guess Steve Hotze could be called a family man,” said Wayne Dolcefino, president of Dolcefino Consulting. “Steve Hotze carries a lot of weight in Texas conservative circles. I guess they don’t know him like his own family knows him. I think it’s time Texans shined a bright light on him to see if he practices what he preaches.”
Thursday’s hearing starts at 9am in Harris County District Court.
