A City of Austin employee is suspected of taking bribes to expedite permit requests.
The Austin American-Statesman reports a city employee, Edward D. Vigil, is suspected of taking $200 payments from parties seeking to have their construction permits approved, in the midst of a months-long backlog at the city. The backlog was finally cleared in April of this year.
A police investigation is underway, and according to emails obtained by the daily, a case is set to be presented to a grand jury. Vigil tells the Statesman the poor management and accountability caused the backlog, and that a supervisor told him “this is how we do things here.”
Vigil left the Planning Department after a suspension. You can read more from the Statesman.
