Newly released court documents shed light on investigation of $11 million Harris County vaccine contract

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Three senior staff of Harris County Decide Lina Hidalgo allegedly gave a vendor inside details about a contract weeks earlier than a request for proposal was open to the general public, and labored to make sure one other firm didn’t win the contract, based on not too long ago launched search warrants.

The laptops, desktops and computer systems of these staff – a coverage director, senior advisor and chief of workers – have been the topics of a search warrant executed final Friday as a part of an investigation right into a $10.9 million greenback county vaccine outreach contract.

Staffers started speaking with Elevate Methods CEO Felicity Pereyra about vaccine group outreach in January 2021, a month earlier than a request for proposal on the topic grew to become public, based on the search warrant.

Textual content messages and emails within the search warrant embrace an obvious draft of the request for proposal in January with a notice from a senior staffer to “tell us your ideas and proposed funds after you’ve had an opportunity to overview,” including they have been “glad to debate additional if that will be useful.”

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4 corporations utilized for the challenge after the request for proposal grew to become public in February. The contract awarded to Elevate Methods was initially accepted by Harris County Commissioners Court docket in June 2021.

However later that contract was terminated in September 2021 after Elevate Methods, an alleged one-person agency, got here beneath scrutiny. It was chosen over the UT Well being Service Heart, regardless of UTHSC providing a decrease bid and ranking greater on evaluations, based on county data.

The three staff whose gadgets have been seized made up three of the 5 members of the analysis committee. The search warrants detailed texts messages despatched amongst them in the course of the analysis course of.

In line with the search warrant, on April 20, 2021, one staffer texted one other, “‘This vaccine outreach factor is getting ridiculous. We have to slam the door shut on UT and transfer on.’” 

In one other textual content between the three staffers on Might 7, 2021, a staffer requested one other “if he might ‘make the outreach RFP assembly that is taking place now?” (a staffer) replied ‘No. Take it away. And do not let UT get it.’”

Ultimately, UTHSC scored the best among the many 4 bidders with a 46.8%, whereas Elevate Methods got here in second with a 40.4%, based on the search warrant.

Elevate was nonetheless really useful to obtain the contract as a result of, “Though Elevate Methods LLC obtained the second-highest rating, they have been thought-about one of the best proposal as a consequence of their agency understanding of the necessities and the supply of a robust submission general,” a workers report learn, based on the search warrant.

KHOU 11 Authorized Skilled, Carmen Roe, reviewed the search warrants. Roe says that “the bidding course of ought to be a stage taking part in discipline the place it’s truthful for anybody who’s presenting a bid to have consideration to win that bid. And that didn’t occur right here.”

She went on to say that “these people put their thumb on the size on this case, and informed this vendor forward of time earlier than it was out there to the general public, info that was wanted to win this bid.”

Nobody has been arrested within the case, however the three staffers might face prices of tampering with a authorities doc and misuse of official info, based on the search warrant.

The Harris County District Lawyer’s Workplace had no touch upon the newly-released search warrant particulars “out of equity to all concerned.”

Decide Lina Hidalgo’s legal professional Ashlee McFarlane didn’t return requests for remark Friday. 

Final week, McFarlane stated the choose had the “strictest moral pointers ever imposed in Harris County and that’s been ironclad from day one.”

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