REPRINT OF A RECENT LETTER TO THE EDITOR FROM SHERIFF HENRY PATTERSON

The recently revealed information that shows beyond all doubt that District Attorney Mike Little and Sheriff Henry Patterson failed to act on criminal acts committed by County Judge Phil Fitzgerald could be more than dereliction of duty. It could result in charges against both men. It is serious business and the public deserves to have all of the information on this matter. Henry Patterson must not have very good legal advice because he has responded via a letter to the The Advocate editor and, if it does anything, it seems to dig a deeper hole for Patterson.There may never be one charge filed against either of these men, but citizens who have complained about this kind of good ole boy trade-offs can now point to this FEMA scandal to say why Patterson and Little and their hand-picked compadres need to be driven away from positions of trusts in our government. Here is a reprint of the letter Henry Patterson sent to the Cleveland Advocate.

Below you will find our comments on his “Letter to the Editor” marked in red.

Posted: Thursday, April 26, 2012 5:08 pm | Updated: 9:13 pm, Thu Apr 26, 2012. Cleveland Advocate.

Dear editor,

"Last week, the Dayton News and Cleveland Advocate newspapers printed two articles regarding: (1) a meeting in late January or early February of 2009 between Constable Royce Wheeler, former sheriff’s deputy Philip “Chip” Fairchild, District Attorney Mike Little, and myself, which also included some of my staff as well as some of Mr. Little’s employees, and (2) a meeting that I had with then County Judge Phil Fitzgerald and District Attorney Mike Little on Feb. 17, 2009."

Here we go, here comes some classic Henry Patterson lying bullshit...

"During the first meeting with Constable Wheeler and Deputy Fairchild, they made certain allegations of misconduct on the part of Judge Fitzgerald associated with the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Wheeler and Fairchild claimed to have known about this alleged misconduct for approximately four months, but for their own reasons, they failed to take any action during that time period even though, as police officers, they had the power and duty to arrest an individual when they had probable cause to believe that individual was violating the law."

They failed to take action because Liberty County DA Mike Little told them to wait till you were in office first. One of the officers involved was Chip Fairchild and worked FOR YOU Henry Patterson. You should have told him to go out and make the arrest. Instead you were too busy trying to find a reason to fire him and his wife Terry Fairchild.  You eventually got your way and fired both the Fairchilds and obstructed the Fitzgerald investigation/indictments.

"During this meeting, Wheeler and Fairchild presented no offense reports, no witness statements, no photographs or video recordings, no documentation whatsoever in support of their allegations against Judge Fitzgerald."

That is a bald faced lie from you Mr. Patterson, they didn’t have every investigation document in their file there at the meeting but they had enough direct information, pictures and evidence from months past ready for a grand jury- and you knew it. They had started working on the case back in November 2008. You shut the investigation down!

"Being veteran police officers, they should have known that the district attorney would not file charges without documentation in support of their allegations, especially in light of the fact that some of the circumstances they claimed to have witnessed had changed in the four and a half months since Hurricane Ike."

More lies, you were briefed on the investigation and evidence when you came into the Sheriff's Office after the election.  You helped set up the meeting in question through Texas Ranger Frank Huff, then you made a deal with Huff to give up your friend Harry Kelly to save your own bacon.

Again, you lie through the use of your smoke screen. They had the evidence and you knew it according to ALL involved. Plus, one of the main focuses and lead agencies was YOUR OFFICE; the file was in your office. DA Mike Little knew of the allegations and evidence before you even took office. Everyone considered you the lynchpin for moving forward, YOU stopped the investigation by your firing of the lead investigator Chip Fairchild who was working for YOU… The investigation and charges against Fitzgerald were HINDERED – SELECTIVE – TAMPERED WITH – AND OBSTRUCTED by you.

"In spite of the lack of documentation, I did not ignore their claims. I assigned Fairchild and another deputy the task of locating evidence in support of the claims he and Wheeler had made. Within a couple of weeks after the meeting with Wheeler and Fairchild, the district attorney and I decided to confront Judge Fitzgerald with the allegations made against him regarding the generator, and the results of that meeting are reflected in the letter mentioned in the newspaper articles last week that I sent to Judge Fitzgerald at his request."

Chip Fairchild and Royce Wheeler are some of the best investigators in Liberty County and had a complete file started back in 2008. You clearly shut down the investigation as a payoff to Frank Huff so that you would not be indicted with your friend Harry Kelly who you threw way under the bus. You and those around you seem to have a habit of throwing your friends under the bus to save your own rears.

NOTE: Shame on you Henry Patterson for being so corrupt and cowardly. The only one who failed here is you Henry Patterson, man up!

Henry Patterson
Sheriff
Liberty County, Texas