VICTORIA, Texas (AP) – Records show that a former Texas congressman had tried steering a federal contract to the owner of a business who gave him a $160,000-a-year job after the congressman resigned amid sexual harassment allegations.
Emails published Sunday by The Victoria Advocate show that former Rep. Blake Farenthold arranged a 2015 meeting between the Army Corps of Engineers and the owner of a dredging company called RLB Contracting.
The owner, Randy Boyd, is also the elected chairman of the Calhoun Port Authority. Boyd directed the port board to hire Farenthold as a lobbyist in May, a month after the congressman resigned.
The Victoria Advocate is suing the port over allegations of violating open meetings laws when it hired Farenthold.
Farenthold said in a deposition that his favor for Boyd wasn’t exceptional.
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