A real estate developer has pleaded guilty to bribing the mayor of Taylor and another city official.
Shady Awad gave Mayor Rick Sollars more than $50,000 in cash, appliances, home renovations, and gambling money over a period of several years, according to federal prosecutors.
In return, Awad acquired 95 tax-foreclosed properties as part of the Right of First Refusal Program. That program allows counties to turn those properties over to developers.
Awad faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. He agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors that recommends he receive no more than 46 months.
Sollars also faces federal bribery and wire fraud charges. It’s unclear whether Awad will testify in that case.
