SHERMAN, Texas –The former mayor of Richardson, Texas and a land developer who she eventually married, have been convicted of federal conspiracy violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today.

Laura Jordan, also known as Laura Maczka, 54, and Mark Jordan, 52, both of Plano, Texas were found guilty by a jury of following a trial before U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant that lasted over three weeks. Maczka was found guilty of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, honest services wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bribery concerning a program receiving federal funds and bribery concerning program receiving federal funds. Jordan was found guilty of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, honest services wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bribery concerning a program receiving federal funds and bribery concerning program receiving federal funds.

According to information presented in court, from May 2013 through April 2015, Maczka was the mayor of Richardson, Texas, and Jordan was a land developer. Maczka and Jordan conspired to devise and execute a scheme to defraud and deprive City of Richardson residents of the honest services of the Mayor through bribery. Maczka, contrary to her campaign promises, supported and repeatedly voted for controversial zoning changes sought by Jordan ultimately allowing for the construction of over 1,000 new apartments in Richardson near Richardson neighborhoods. The indictment alleges that, in exchange, Jordan paid Maczka over $18,000 in cash and $40,000 by check, paid for over $24,000 in renovations to Maczka’s home, paid for Maczka’s luxury hotel stays and airfare upgrades, and provided Maczka lucrative employment at one of Jordan’s companies. According to court testimony, Maczka and Jordan failed to disclose to the public that they had coordinated to effect the zoning changes Jordan wanted and that Jordan had provided a stream of benefits to Maczka.

“This kind of corrupt relationship undermines the public’s confidence in government,” said Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown. “This was more than an ethical violation, this was absolutely criminal. We need juries that recognize public corruption for what it is, and support prosecutions that attempt to hold accountable those that cheat. This jury certainly did that.”

Mark Jordan was taken into custody following the verdict and will appear for a detention hearing on Mar. 8, 2019.

Under federal statutes, Maczka and Jordan each face up to 20 years in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher A. Eason, Maureen Smith, Glenn Roque-Jackson, and Bradley Visosky.