HEMPSTEAD, Texas — Former Hempstead Mayor Michael Shayne Wolfe was sentenced to six years in jail after pleading guilty to misapplication of fiduciary property greater than $300,000.
Two days into the trial, Wolfe reached an agreement with the district attorney's office in exchange for his guilty plea and waiving his right to appeal.
While he was mayor, Wolfe approved road construction jobs that weren't done properly, weren't done at all or were approved for roads that didn't even exist.
His actions cost the City of Hempstead more than $2 million.
"Waller County will not look the other way when public officials ignore their oaths and line their friends’ pockets at the expense of the taxpayer," Waller County Criminal District Attorney Sean Whittmore said. "We cannot restore the people’s faith in their government until public officials are held to at least the same standards as the citizens they serve."
Wolfe repeatedly approved invoices from local contracting firm Glover Construction without making sure the work was done.
"We will aggressively prosecute any and all public officials who abuse their office, who violate bid laws, or who break the public’s trust," Whittmore said.
Not his first run-in with the law
As it turns out, it wasn't the first time Wolfe had been in trouble while leading the city. In 2019, he was arrested by the Texas Rangers and charged with abuse of official capacity.
They said he told city employees to keep his and his daughter's utilities active even though they hadn't paid their bills in years.
Court documents showed that the mayor owed more than $10,500 in unpaid utility bills. His daughter allegedly owed nearly $10,000 in unpaid utility bills -- and had only made two utility payments since 2016 totaling $250 combined.
