Bribery Trial For Former Richardson Mayor Laura Jordan & Developer Mark Jordan Set To Begin

RICHARDSON (CBSDFW.COM)-- The federal bribery trial for a former Richardson mayor and a developer is set to begin Monday morning.

The former mayor, Laura Jordan, who served from May, 2013 to April, 2015, is now married to developer Mark Jordan, but the bribery and honest services wire fraud charges filed against them centers around their activities before they tied the knot.

A grand jury indicted the pair last May, accusing the former mayor of voting to approve apartment complexes against many of her constituents' wishes and against her own position during her campaign for mayor, in exchange for cash, sex, luxury trips and other services from Mr. Jordan.

Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The FBI began investigating in 2015.

A federal judge recently denied requests by the Jordans to drop counts one through four involving honest services wire fraud and to limit discussions to the jury about their extra-marital affair.

The couple each has children from their first marriages.

According to court records, prosecutors intend to show the jury, text messages between the Jordans; bank statements and travel records.

Before they were married, prosecutors say Mark Jordan gave Laura (Maczka) $60,000 in cash; took her on $15,000 worth of trips, including to luxury resorts in California and Utah; and spent $24,000 to renovate her house.

In addition, prosecutors say Mr. Jordan hired the former Mayor for a $150,000 a year job and gave her a $15,000 signing bonus.

She replaced a licensed leasing agent at his firm who made $70,000 a year.

The trial may take a couple of weeks.