Former Richardson Mayor And Developer Husband Found Guilty Of Bribery and Tax Evasion

SHERMAN, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Former Richardson Mayor Laura Maczka, now Laura Jordan, and her developer husband Mark Jordan, were found guilty Friday, July 23 of bribery and tax evasion.

The federal jury found them not guilty on conspiracy to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud.

The former mayor took the stand in her own defense on Wednesday and Thursday.

The trial began on July 6.

Sentencing will be set at a later date.

Prosecutors said the case was about corruption and an affair the two had before they got married.

Prosecutors said the former mayor accepted cash, vacations, and home renovations from Jordan and had sex with him in exchange for her votes to change the city's zoning on land fronting Central Expressway and to approve hundreds of apartments that Jordan wanted to build there.

Early in the trial, prosecutors told jurors that the Jordans "corruptly convinced the city of Richardson to approve a multi-million dollar real estate deal" and that they "used their adulterous affair and subsequent marriage to cover up corruption and get away with this."

But the Jordans' attorneys told the jury that the former mayor voted for the project because it was in the best interest of the city, and that a majority of council members approved the project too.

The couple's lawyers also said their affair was totally separate.

A Richardson resident who testified for prosecutors said he voted for Maczka in 2013 because of her campaign pledge to vote against new apartments.

The former mayor's attorney called that pledge "fake news."

Two years ago, a jury convicted the Jordans.

But the judge tossed out the conviction after it was revealed a court officer advised one of the jurors before a verdict was reached.

The government decided to prosecute the case again.