The D.C. Attorney General has filed a $1 million lawsuit against Ward 5 Councilman Harry Thomas, accusing him of ripping off more than $300,000 in city money meant to support youth baseball so he could pay for trips to Las Vegas and Pebble Beach golf course and buy an Audi SUV. The lawsuit was filed in D.C. Superior Court Monday morning. Attorney General Irvin Nathan said he has sent his findings to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. But prosecutors and the FBI say they’ve already been investigating Thomas and his nonprofit “Team Thomas.” Neither agency would say when they began their criminal probes. The D.C. Republican Party asked federal investigators to look into Team Thomas last fall when GOP candidate Tim Day, who was running against Thomas in the November election, discovered the alleged role Thomas’ council office was playing in raising money for his nonprofit group.
“I am extremely disappointed in this violation of public service by Mr. Thomas,” Nathan said Monday. “We will pursue this matter vigorously.”
| About Harry Thomas Jr.: |
| » First elected Ward 5 Councilman in November 2006; elected to second term in November 2010. |
| » D.C. native, followed in his father shoes to become Ward 5 councilman. |
| » He touts his work with youth, which often focuses on sports, baseball in particular. |
Thomas denied the allegations and said he would not step down from the council or from his role as chairman of the powerful economic development committee.
“I will be vindicated,” Thomas vowed to reporters.
Nathan said Thomas funneled the city cash into a private business and nonprofit he controlled, then used their accounts as a personal slush fund.
With that money, Thomas bought a new Audi quattro Premium SUV for $69,000, took a trip to Pebble Beach to play golf, visited the Bali Hai Golf Club in Las Vegas and paid for outings to local sporting events and night clubs, the suit charged.
The lawsuit follows a trail of money from a 2007 $400,000 earmark Thomas attached to the budget to support youth baseball to the D.C. Children & Youth Investment Trust Corp. From there, the suit alleges, Thomas and his council office played a pivotal role in directing the dollars to the Langston 21st Century Foundation, a nonprofit group associated with the Langston Golf Course that’s run by Thomas’ golfing buddies. The Langston foundation then cut checks for Team Thomas and a for-profit company Thomas owns with his wife, HLT Development.
Langston kept about $86,000 of the $400,000 grant from the youth trust corporation it won after Thomas and employees in his council office created what the lawsuit says were fake budget documents that claimed the cash would be used to teach girls to play golf and softball. The Langston foundation has agreed to pay the cash back, Nathan said.
D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown said he was “disheartened” to learn about the lawsuit. He said he will meet with council members on Tuesday and “then I will issue a plan of action.”
