Two new indictments filed against former Liberty County Housing Authority chairman

A week after attorneys for former Liberty County Housing Authority Chairman Klint Bush reached an agreement with 253rd State District Judge Chap Cain and the District Attorney’s Office to release Bush from the Liberty County Jail while awaiting trial, pending the results of a psychiatric evaluation, new indictments have now been filed in his case that may prevent his release.

Earlier this week, a Liberty County grand jury met and returned two new indictments against Bush – one for Abuse of Official Capacity and Theft of Property (more than $150,000 but less than $300,000). These two new charges are in addition to two previous charges of Abuse of Official Capacity and Theft of Property that were filed against Bush in March 2023.

All four charges revolve around alleged activities by Bush while he was chairman of the Liberty County Housing Authority, not while he was the Liberty County Elections Administrator. He was removed from his position as elections administrator by county commissioners earlier this year.

The new indictments, which became public on Friday, May 19, allege that Bush intended to harm or defraud another person intentionally, knowingly misusing government property, namely U.S. currency, that had come into his custody and possession by virtue of his office and employment.

In the original Bluebonnet News article from December 2022, the details of the investigation of Bush were explained. He is accused of using $25,000 of CARES Act money to purchase a property for the Housing Authority. When he was later notified that the money could not be spent on the purchase of property, Bush allegedly concocted a scheme to repay the money used for the property purchase by creating fake companies through which he could make purchases of items such as COVID masks, sneeze guards and tablets for LCHA employees to work from home.

A total of expenditures totaling $34,667.49 reportedly were made for the following:

• $11,999.99 paid to Liberty Technologies for 10 laptops for staff and board of commissioners due to COVID-19;
• $3,890 paid to County Healthcare for 10 free-standing sneeze guards, with pass through, to protect staff from COVID-19;
• $12,497.50 paid to County Healthcare for the acquisition of 250 boxes of disposable facemasks for staff, tenants and public use;
• $6,280 to CJ Services to remodel the LCHA office for COVID-19 to allow for social distancing and for the construction of three ramps for HCV properties.

Instead of receiving brand new laptops for the employees, 10 tablet devices with keyboards were received, according to the affidavit for his original arrest.

Bush was out on bond immediately after his arrest, but Judge Cain revoked his bond in February 2023 after three witnesses testified that Bush had violated his bond conditions by continuing to have communications in person, by text and on the phone with Emily Cook, a former member of the Housing Authority, with whom he reportedly was having an intimate personal relationship.

The original charge of Abuse of Official Capacity is a third-degree felony punishable by imprisonment of 2-10 years. The original Theft of Property charge is a second-degree felony punishable by imprisonment of 2-20 years. The two new charges are first and second-degree felonies. Additionally, Bush has a fifth indictment, which was filed in March 2023, for “Housing Authority Interested Commissioners.” For that last charge, he is accused of knowingly obtaining a “pecuniary gain from a housing authority project.”

Bluebonnet News has reached out to one of Bush’s attorneys, Logan Pickett, for comment.

Speaking on behalf of himself and Attorney Ryan Gertz, Pickett said, “We are excited to present real facts and evidence to a jury in a public trial, rather than commenting on secret evidence presented to a grand jury in private. Klint Bush and his family eagerly await their day in court.”