Ad Exec Takes Plea Bargain in Forest Park Medical Case. The prosecutors on the big-time bribery case now have a key witness. Kelly Loter of Level Two advertising has agreed to plead guilty to misprison (i.e. concealing knowledge of a felony) in exchange for five years’ probation. His testimony will likely help the prosecution make their case against the 20 other defendants charged with taking part in a scheme that gave doctors and execs kickbacks for sending patients to Forest Park Medical Center.
Fox News, Glenn Beck, and Others Dismissed from ‘Clock Boy’ Suit. Last fall, the father of Ahmed Mohamed filed defamation lawsuits against a short list of ‘Clock Boy’ critics. The Fox News lawsuit was dismissed in December, and this week, a judge threw out the lawsuit against Glenn Beck, Beck’s network The Blaze, and conservative think tank Center for Security Policy. Not only did Mohamed lose those cases, but he has been ordered to pay upwards of $80 grand to cover legal fees. Still ticking: Defamation suits against Irving mayor Beth Van Duyne and others, plus a civil rights case against Irving ISD.
Billionaire Andy Beal Puts Tom Hicks’ Former Mansion Back on the Market at Bargain Price. Tom Hicks’ $100 million estate famously sat on the market for several years until billionaire banker Andy Beal bought it last January—said to be the biggest residential property sale in North Texas history. Yesterday, Beal, who also bought the Trammell Crow property last year, put the 25-acre estate back on the market for a considerably smaller price: $48.9 million. You can virtually tour the estate and imagine how lost you would get trying to find the bathroom in the middle of the night right here.
