Events leading up to FBI raid at City Hall, including timeline - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

On Wednesday, KCBD NewsChannel 11 broke the news that the FBI investigation at Lubbock City Hall is over. Mayor Tom Martin said that no charges were filed and all materials seized from City Hall in 2008 were being returned. 

The City and its former Health Insurance Administrator AAG/Icon have been embroiled in a bitter legal battle for nearly five years. The City accused the company and its owner, Ted Parker, of taking inappropriate commissions and overcharging taxpayers. Parker always denied the charges. 

Parker has admitted to accidental overpayments to hospitals, doctors and clinics but denies any theft or other wrongdoing.

The City is self-insured, so its third-party health insurance administrator does not provide insurance but rather does the insurance paperwork for the City. Parker's company was replaced by another shortly after the legal hostilities began.

"I always had confidence in the FBI and the U.S. Attorney," said John Barr, attorney for Ted Parker. Barr spoke briefly to KCBD NewsChannel 11 by phone on Thursday. 

Former City Councilman John Leonard was the target of rumor and innuendo when he spoke up in favor of Parker and against the City. Leonard also provided City of Lubbock documents to a friend of Parker prior to them becoming public record. Leonard had said he thought they were public record, and they did become public record shortly after the disclosure.

On Thursday, Leonard said in a prepared statement, "It is unfortunate that the personal politics of destruction, initiated by a key elected city official and a few city bureaucrats against a handful of their perceived opponents, were so extreme and costly to the taxpayers of Lubbock."

Mayor Martin told KCBD NewsChannel 11 on Wednesday, "Anybody that was the target of rumors and innuendo in the community, they are probably due a big apology."

No less than two lawsuits remain in court between the City and Parker's companies, and legal bills have totaled up to roughly $3.8 million. Parker no longer has controlling interest in the companies he once owned.

The following is a timeline of the highlights: 

• March 5, 2007 - The city issues a public statement saying it will sue AAG, which is part of the Parker Group.
• March 30, 2007 - The Parker Group responds in court records to the City's lawsuit, saying the city knowingly filed false claims in court.
• July 3, 2007 - The Parker Group puts the City on notice of a counter-lawsuit
  
• September 26, 2007 - The Parker Group announces it will move its headquarters from Lubbock to the Metroplex.
• November 8, 2007 - The public learns that City Councilman John Leonard and City Attorney Anita Burgess do not see eye-to-eye on the Parker lawsuit.  There is talk of having Leonard excluded from executive session on the Parker matter.
• January 15, 2008 - The City of Lubbock sues Covenant Health System to get health insurance records.
• January 21, 2008 - The City and Covenant announce an out of court settlement.  A federal judge rejects it.
• February 8, 2008 -  AAG/Icon files a lawsuit against City Manager Lee Ann Dumbauld and other city officials in Dallas County, accusing them of tortuous business interference and defamation of character.
• April 7, 2008 - Then-Mayor David Miller accuses his political opponent Tom Martin of allowing the Parker Group to become a multi-million problem when Martin was on City Council. Martin responds.
• May 14, 2008 - The FBI conducts a raid at City Hall, taking thousands of pages of documents.
• July 29, 2009 - The St. Paul Travelers Insurance Company sues the City of Lubbock for the right to not provide any liability insurance coverage with regard to the Parker cases.
• February 15, 2010 - A KCBD NewsChannel 11 investigative report reveals that as part of the Parker Group litigation taxpayers were made to pay for steak dinners, filet mignon, beer & nachos at the DFW airport, Starbucks, and dinners that cost more than $60 per person. The expenses were turned in by lawyers for the City.
• October 10, 2010 - The City settles out-of-court with St. Paul Travelers Insurance Company for $500,000. St. Paul Travelers, sued the city, saying it did not want to be held responsible for the Parker lawsuit.
• October 28, 2010 - News breaks that the City and AAG/Icon have reached an out-of-court settlement on one of the many lawsuits between them.  The company agreed to pay the city $850,000 to cover costs associated with defending Lubbock officials in the Dallas County lawsuit.
• March 25, 2011 - A federal judge throws out the City's lawsuit against Covenant Health System.
• June 6, 2011 - Previously sealed federal records concerning the FBI raid on city hall were released to the public.  They detail how the FBI suspected health care fraud, and false statements.
• August 22, 2011 - News gets out that just days before, the City lost a lawsuit in Tarrant County in which it tried to hold Ted Parker personally responsible for the actions of his company.
• February 1, 2012  - KCBD NewsChannel 11 breaks the news that the FBI investigation is over and no charges have been filed.