2010: Prosecutors Passed on TRS Charges

Travis County prosecutors who reviewed allegations of irregularities at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas decided months ago not to pursue the case.

Bill White, the Democratic nominee for governor, on Wednesday called for an investigation "by appropriate authorities" into allegations raised in a 2009 memo from Michael Green, then-director of private markets in the investments division at TRS. Green raised questions about managers and board members overriding staff recommendations and rewarding contracts to friends and allies. White extended that to mean political allies and supporters of his opponent, Gov. Rick Perry.

At the time, TRS brought in an outside consultant to review the allegations and sent his findings on to the state auditor. Green, meanwhile, waited four months and then sent copies of his memo to the attorney general and to the Travis County district attorney for investigation. The AG, seeing that the memo was in the hands of local prosecutors, passed. After looking into it and interviewing Green in September 2009, so did the district attorney.

"We met with Mr. Green on September 3 and we weren't able to identify any criminal violations and we closed this matter on June 22, 2010," says John Neal, first assistant to Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg. He said the issue could be raised again, but only if new information or evidence comes to light.