On his last night, influential City Hall lobbyist Ross Allyn attended a political fund-raiser and had a late dinner with a friend, during which he confided fears that his phones were tapped. When they parted, the friend said, all seemed well.
Within hours, Allyn was found dead inside his home...after a suspicious fire swept through it...An autopsy Friday revealed he was killed by a gunshot to the neck.
...Allyn, a one-time aide to former Houston City Councilman Ben Reyes, had been active in local politics for more than 20 years. He survived a high-profile City Hall bribery trial before charges against him were dismissed in 1998.
...In July 1997, Allyn was caught up in a federal sting involving Reyes and four others in an alleged scheme to bribe council members to award a $10 million contract to FBI agents posing as businessmen.
Reyes, who had left the council at the time and had become a lobbyist, and former Port of Houston Commissioner Betti Maldonado were later convicted of bribery.
A jury acquitted then-council members Michael Yarbrough, John Peavy and John Castillo, and a judge threw out the charge against Allyn, saying prosecutors had not made their case against him.
In recent years, Allyn represented several clients in high-profile city contracts. Earlier this month, he helped Paradies IAH-LLC win a 10-year, $178 million retail contract at Bush Intercontinental Airport.
article
Saturday, November 22, 2003
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