InstantNewsKaty has learned that controversial former Brookshire Public Works Director Alex Hixson is currently serving time in a Beaumont federal prison.
According to U.S. Bureau of Prison records, Alexis Fitzgerald Hixon is being held in the Beaumont Federal Correctional Complex.
No information was immediately available about what charge Hixon was sentenced on, but BOP records show he is expected to be released in July of this year. His inmate number is 98716-179.
According to the Bureau of Prisons, the Beaumont Federal Correctional Complex houses medium security male inmates. The facility also has a satellite camp that houses minimum security male inmates.
Ironically, Hixon is not the first former Brookshire public works director to end up in federal prison. Henry A. Cheney, along with former Brookshire mayor Keith Woods, was sentenced to prison in 2008 after pleading guilty in a kickback and bribery scheme.
Hixon stepped down from his post last May, citing personal and family reasons. At the time, Mayor Joey Vaughn said Hixon voluntarily resigned.
“Mr. Hixon resigned from his position as public works director due to personal/family reasons,” Vaughn said in response to an inquiry from InstantNewsKaty.
Hixon’s tenure with the city was marked by clashes with city council and allegations of misuse of a city pickup truck. At one point, several council members called for a formal evaluation of Hixon’s performance by city council. That effort was stymied by City Attorney Loren Smith, who pointed out only the mayor was responsible for personnel decisions related to the public works director.
After Hixon’s departure, council members placed supervision of the public works director under the city council, much like the city secretary and police chief.
Hixon’s troubles began in July of 2010 when Alderman Jimmy Sanders first questioned his use of the public works director’s city pickup truck to commute to and from his home near downtown Houston. Sanders said the issue was brought to his attention by residents concerned about the cost to the city, particularly at a time when the city was struggling with finances.
Sanders also questioned whether the practice violated city policy. Sanders pointed out a provision of the city’s policy manual required on-call employees such as Hixon to live within a “reasonable commuting range” of the city. That range was defined in the policy as taking no more than 15 minutes.
When questioned, Hixon told the council his daily commute took “about 20 minutes.” Following the discussion, city council voted to strip Hixon of his take-home vehicle privileges.
A subsequent InstantNewsKaty review of Hixon’s claim his daily commute took “about 20 minutes” revealed the trip, under the best of circumstances, actually took at least 45 minutes one-way.
After learning Hixon continued to use the city truck to drive home even after city council voted to strip him of the privilege, council members attempted to conduct a review of Hixon’s conduct. At Hixon’s request, that review was scheduled to be held in public during an August 2010 city council meeting.
The review quickly turned into a name-calling free-for-all during which a clearly-angry Hixon shouted at Sanders and Alderman Eric Green from the back of the council chambers. To preserve order, the meeting was abruptly adjourned with no action taken.
And the song remains the same.
Brookshire politicians in jail? In other news, water is still wet.
He resigned for personal reasons then all of a sudden is in the pen? Was he going to visit family?
Another useless THUG that the useless Mayor will not take any responsibility for!!!!