A disgraced former Texas state representative and convicted felon has joined Rep Eddie Bernice Johnson's (D-Texas) staff in Dallas.
Terri Hodge served for more than a decade in the Texas House before her 2010 conviction for lying on her tax returns in connection with a public corruption investigation. Hodge received a one-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to one count of fraud and now serves as Johnson's district outreach consultant.
Johnson's communications director, Yinka Robinson, declined to comment on the hire citing a policy of not publicly discussing personnel matters.
Prosecutors said Hodge failed to report income of more than $40,000, some of it from campaign contributions, over the course of several years. Additionally, a developer paid expenses for a Dallas-area house Hodge owned and in return she allegedly wrote letters to help him get tax credits for low-income housing projects.
After the guilty plea, Hodge resigned and withdrew from an ongoing re-election campaign.
But after serving her time in prison, Hodge was back campaigning last year to be vice chairwoman of the Texas Democratic Party, though she later lost. She was also reportedly doing campaign projects for Johnson.
Hodge quietly joined Johnson's official Dallas staff in January.
