Campaign contribution probe wrapping up

July 7, 2011

Law enforcement officials involved in the ongoing investigation into alleged illegal campaign contributions accepted by a trio of Big Spring City Council members say the cases could go to the district attorney in as little as two weeks.

Big Spring Mayor Tommy Duncan, along with newly elected District 1 Councilman Marcus Fernandez and District 3 Councilman Glen Carrigan, are currently under investigation by the Texas Rangers for allegations they each accepted campaign contributions from a pair of corporations, Quad A Inc. and Hydro Dynamics.

“I spoke with the Ranger in charge of the investigation and he said he's currently waiting for grand jury subpoenas to be completed,” Howard County Sheriff Stan Parker said. “Those subpoenas, which are used to gather the financial information on the alleged transactions, have to be served to the financial institutions. Once that information is gathered, the case can be turned over to the district attorney's office. This could happen as soon as two weeks from now.”

Information on the campaign transactions accepted by Mayor Duncan was uncovered by the Big Spring Herald in early May and turned over to the Howard County Sheriff's Office, which requested the Texas Rangers conduct the investigation. Similar complaints were filed by the Herald against Carrigan and Fernandez more than a week later.

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