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Prominent Dallas political activists Lynn Flint Shaw and her husband, Rufus Shaw, dead Tuesday in an apparent murder-suicide by gun, were players in a tight-knit circle of advisors to Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert—a group keenly interested in city and Dallas Area Rapid Transit contracts.

According to e-mails provided to the Dallas Observer, Flint Shaw and Willis Johnson, Leppert's southern Dallas campaign manager, pressured Leppert to make sure minority contractors seeking city or DART work had to go through their own small group, which they called "The Inner Circle."

Shaw, who was treasurer of "Friends of Tom Leppert," a political fund-raising committee, told Leppert in an e-mail last July: "Willis is the guy. He is the 'go-to' person in all things southern sector and African-American."

Two days earlier Johnson had told Flint Shaw in an e-mail: "HKS is just a start. I still have to get with Matt at Turner, and I meet this week with Chuck at Comerica."

The references presumably are to HKS Inc., an architecture and engineering firm involved in public works projects; Turner Construction, an international firm at which Leppert was once chief executive officer; and Comerica, a banking company that announced a year ago it was moving its headquarters to Dallas from Detroit.

Seeking comment and authentication of the e-mails, the Observer spoke to Rufus Shaw on Monday, less than 24 hours before his death. He referred a reporter to Bickel & Brewer, the law firm providing Flint Shaw with criminal representation on a forgery charge.

Flint Shaw replied to the Observer by a faxed letter in which she declined to comment directly on the e-mails, calling them private, but did not dispute their authenticity and reiterated some of the content.

"Certainly I have strongly urged the mayor and other elected officials to look directly to Mr. Johnson—above almost anyone else—for his insight and perspective on South Dallas."

Johnson, a radio host who has equipment-supply contracts with DART and other local government entities, did not reply to numerous requests for comment.

The e-mails were provided to the Observer by a group of persons who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution. The group included several people who have been active in fair-share contracting issues in Dallas in the past. They told the Observer they were acting out of concern that Leppert was undoing decades of effort to open up competitive-bid contracting to minorities.

Political consultant Carol Reed, who continues to speak for Leppert on political matters, says Leppert has always been open about his interest in building strong companies in southern Dallas through public contracting. She says he trusts Johnson and considers him a valuable ally.

"I can tell you exactly how the mayor's office operates as we speak," Reed says. "That is that anyone who wants to see the mayor either calls [chief of staff] Chris Heinbaugh or [deputy chief] Paula Blackmon, and they will set up the meeting."

In 1980 Rufus Shaw was author of a book called How to Be a Rich Nigger, a self-help book written to encourage young black people to believe in themselves. In it he wrote, "Remember, in order to be truly rich you must have that dream of success and be able to see yourself driving a Rolls-Royce, living in a mansion and flying to Africa for that long-awaited vacation to the homeland."

When Shaw was still in his early 20s he was charged with assault and eventually was convicted of cocaine possession. The conviction became an issue in 1993 during debate on a proposal to bar felons from serving on appointive government bodies in the city. Shaw, a member of the Dallas Park Board at the time, said: "They may as well call it the Rufus Shaw law, like Roe v. Wade." The city ruled that Shaw's conviction had been voided on appeal and that he was eligible to serve.

Lynn Flint Shaw, a native of Louisiana, rose to prominence in local arts and charity circles in the early 1990s when Dallas arts groups were under pressure to increase minority participation.

More recently, Flint Shaw, who resigned January 29 as chair of the DART board, has been at the center of swirling problems and accusations over unpaid debts, undisclosed contacts and what appear to be untruthful campaign finance reports.

Shaw conducted a short-lived campaign for city council last summer, quitting the field after only a few weeks but not before raising almost $60,000, mostly from patrons in the arts and real estate community. On January 24, a week before her resignation from DART, the Observer reported that her campaign finance report for the council race seemed to be off by at least $17,000. Michael Sorrell, a lawyer to whom Shaw reported paying $20,000 as a campaign consultant, said he had received less than $2,000 from her.

Shortly after Flint Shaw resigned as DART chair, DART revealed it had discovered a previously undisclosed contract between Flint Shaw and Deloitte Touche, the agency's outside auditing firm, providing Shaw $21,000 a year to advise Deloitte on how to get minority high school students interested in accounting.

A DART lawyer later said the contract was not a violation of the agency's conflict rules because the division of Deloitte that was paying Flint Shaw was separate from the Deloitte division that conducts DART's external audits. Deloitte has refused to comment on whether the contract violated its own rules or the federal law governing accountants and conflicts.

At the time of her death Flint Shaw faced criminal charges related to the faking of a letter—intended to look as if it came from Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins—in order to avoid paying a personal debt of $7,500.

One day before Flint Shaw's death, Watkins announced he was removing himself from the case, exposing Flint Shaw to prosecution by an outside prosecutor.

Write Your Comment show comments (20)

  1. After reading Jim Schutze's article, I'm wondering if Dallas Hispanic contractors should go to Willis Johnson instead of Mayor Leppert in order to obtain a fair piece of the business procurement contracts at the City of Dallas.

    I hope this is not the fact. I'd like to believe otherwise but at some point in time, Mayor Leppert needs to bring clarity and light into this mess. Mayor Leppert, don't keep Dallas' Hispanic community in the dark on this matter. Mayor Leppert, exactly what was Mrs. Shaw alluding to when Mrs. Shaw asked you to let her know what she was supposed to do with Willis Johnson in relation to Transit-Oriented Development or Cherokee?

    For the record, Hispanics also live in Dallas' southern sector. Is this yet another example where the Dallas Hispanic community is playing second fiddle and where Dallas' black business community are using Dallas' Hispanic population numbers to pad their business contracts? This is what Adelfa Callejo was alluding to recently. If this is the fact, this is not only wrong, it may be against the law.

    To that end, there is a valid (DMN article titled 'Leppert reaches out to Hispanics' march 12, 2008) concern to this day among many Dallas Hispanic leaders that Hispanic-led businesses are not offered adequate business opportunities while black-owned businesses are granted many city contracts.

    Jesse Diaz, President
    Dallas LULAC Council 4496

    Comment by Jesse Diaz — March 12, 2008 @ 04:26PM

  2. After reading Jim Schutze's article, I'm wondering if Dallas Hispanic contractors should go to Willis Johnson instead of Mayor Leppert in order to obtain a fair piece of the business procurement contracts at the City of Dallas.

    I hope this is not the fact. I'd like to believe otherwise but at some point in time, Mayor Leppert needs to bring clarity and light into this mess. Mayor Leppert, don't keep Dallas' Hispanic community in the dark on this matter. Mayor Leppert, exactly what was Mrs. Shaw alluding to when Mrs. Shaw asked you to let her know what she was supposed to do with Willis Johnson in relation to Transit-Oriented Development or Cherokee?

    For the record, Hispanics also live in Dallas' southern sector. Is this yet another example where the Dallas Hispanic community is playing second fiddle and where Dallas' black business community are using Dallas' Hispanic population numbers to pad their business contracts? This is what Adelfa Callejo was alluding to recently. If this is the fact, this is not only wrong, it may be against the law.

    To that end, there is a valid (DMN article titled 'Leppert reaches out to Hispanics' march 12, 2008) concern to this day among many Dallas Hispanic leaders that Hispanic-led businesses are not offered adequate business opportunities while black-owned businesses are granted many city contracts.

    Jesse Diaz, President
    Dallas LULAC Council 4496

    Comment by Jesse Diaz — March 12, 2008 @ 04:26PM

  3. Okay, I'll play devil's advocate on this one. This quote from today's article....

    "Flint Shaw replied to the Observer by a faxed letter in which she declined to comment directly on the e-mails, calling them private, but did not dispute their authenticity and reiterated some of the content."

    ...differs in an important way from this quote from Schutze's blog yesterday...

    "At 4:15 p.m. she faxed me a letter basically confirming that the e-mails were authentic but declining to comment on them."

    So which is it? "Not disputing" is much different from "basically confirming." Either she confirmed their authenticity or she simply didn't dispute them, which means she neither said "yes, they are real" nor did she say "no, they aren't real."

    Clearing this fine detail up might be really important to informing your readers of the truth.

    Comment by warden62 — March 12, 2008 @ 04:33PM

  4. Mr Diaz,

    I believe you do your constituency no service by using a public forum to cast vague aspersions at Mayor Leppert. ("...what was Mrs. Shaw alluding to...in relation to Transit-Oriented Development or Cherokee?" and "This is what Adelfa Callejo was alluding to recently"). Those of us outside some alleged "Inner Circle" don't have the slightest idea what your talking about - but your covert encoded rhetoric creates the impression that you are eyeball deep in similar political machinations. But then again, perhaps that was your goal - to seize the day and capitalize on a private tragedy to promote yourself as an up-and-coming powerbroker.

    Mr. Diaz, there will be time for your Machiavellian maneuvers, but may I humbly suggest that it will occur once these two human beings have been laid to rest? Since you are a fan of referencing obscure quotes, I'll close with my favorites: "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?" ~ Michael Palmer

    Comment by michael palmer — March 12, 2008 @ 05:39PM

  5. Interesting, just saw Jim Schutze on Fox 4 News tonight commenting on the tragic Shaw murder/suicide. He used the terms 'buddy system' and 'gate keeper' to describe Lynn Flint Shaw and Willis Johnson's role in pressuring Mayor Leppert to make sure minority contractors seeking city or DART work to go through their small group, called "The Inner Circle." I heard the term 'buddy system' used by Mr. Jesse Diaz before so I googled Jesse Diaz and I found this blog entry on CNN News dated February 6, 2008:

    CNNPolitics.com - Politicalticker - February 6th, 2008 7:33 am ET
    I'm waiting for the Obama Express to come to Dallas. That is when I will sound out my resounding support for Senator Clinton's candidacy. When Senator Obama's campaign rolls into Dallas, the 'Dallas Phenomenon' will reflect the racist and biased distaste Dallas' black leadership has shown towards Dallas' Hispanic community for decades in Dallas County. Dallas Hispanics fully understand the impact of the meaningless political coalition that supposedly exists between blacks and Hispanics in Dallas. Hispanics in Dallas County know very well the harmful effects of the infamous 'buddy system' Dallas blacks have utilized for decades (DART, DISD, City of Dallas, Dallas County, local Post Office locations) resulting in huge employment under-representation. The obvious racist and negative attitude DISD trustee Ron Price has exhibited towards DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa along with his recent outburst threatening to break away from the DISD in order to create a separate school district gives Dallas' Hispanic community a pretty good picture of just how bad things are between blacks and Hispanics in Dallas.
    Indeed, Dallas' black voters will need to do their best when the Obama Express rolls into Dallas. You see, you very well may know who we are but we fully know who you are too. Don't expect Dallas Hispanics to jump on the Obama Express.

    Jesse Diaz
    President
    Dallas LULAC Council 4496

    Comment by Jachin — March 12, 2008 @ 09:07PM

  6. Machiavelli's greatest insight was: "For the manner in which men live is so far removed from the way in which men ought to live, that he who leaves the common course for that which he ought to follow will find that it leads him to ruin rather than to safety. For a man who, in all respects, will carry out only his professions of good, will be apt to be ruined among so many that are evil. A prince therefore who desires to maintain himself must learn not always to be good" --- Lets hope our elected and community leaders will work towards maintaining themselves in an honest, upright manner. Over the past few years, the Dallas ISD and the City of Dallas governmental agencies have had their problems with FBI convictions, back stabbing between Dallas ISD trustees and the Dallas ISD p-card scandal which cost Dallas ISD taxpayers millions of school tax dollars which should have been used to better educate Dallas' school children. If there is more than one prince in the Big D, lets hope they have learned how to deal with evil while they labor to do good.

    Comment by Boaz — March 12, 2008 @ 09:42PM

  7. I hope that one day VERY soon, these people will be allowed to rest in peace. Just by reading comments posted, I totally understand why they felt that there was no other choice. Even in their death they are being judged. People really need to move on.

    Comment by TrUe — March 12, 2008 @ 09:54PM

  8. What can one say? It appears these two people had truly good intentions, but became overwhelmed by life challenges. The greatest lesson regarding this matter, is to remember that materials, presitage, and the flaterry of others are not enough to carry you through the storms of life.

    Comment by Wizdom — March 12, 2008 @ 10:28PM

  9. I wonder who are the terrified anonynous scources that provided the e-mails? Any wagers that they are folks who were doing just fine the way minority contracts on public works projects were being awarded and didn't want the "inner circle" cutting into their turf a/k/a money

    Comment by Alfredo — March 13, 2008 @ 11:57AM

  10. I'm wondering if any of the names deleted by Jim Schutze on the emails he posted on his Unfair Park blog sent by Lynn Flint Shaw to Mayor Leppert included the name of Don Hill. How about it Schutze, could you give us some light here?

    Comment by Boaz — March 13, 2008 @ 12:12PM

  11. Wow! What an amazing report by Jim Schutze and Sam Merten. It looks like they're so dedicated to their craft that they would "kill" for a scoop. It's great to know that some reporters in Dallas believe that a suicide shouldn't stop them from continuing their attacks against a public figure. I'm also pleased to learn that Sam Merten has a tremendous knack for burning bridges. I enjoyed reading his articles for the DallasBlog.com, where he worked alongside with Rufus Shaw.

    Comment by Rick Sans — March 13, 2008 @ 12:15PM

  12. I consider both Jim Schutze and Sam Merten to be excellent reporters. Keep up the great work you guys are doing out there Jim & Sam.

    Comment by Gehrig Saldaña — March 13, 2008 @ 12:28PM

  13. My Friend Lynn Flint-Shaw has been brutally murdered and all you people can do is continue to slam her name. Fact: All Elected Officials have people around them they trust. The E-mail that was sent to Jim was writen in June soon after the election . The people out to destroy Mr. Leppert's name is the same group out to destroy Willis Johnson and destroyed Rufus Shaw's mind. My Friend Lynn Flint-Shaw made mistakes but who has
    not? If she was a crooked politician she WOULD not have had a finicial problem.From news accounts the couple may have owed appox. $300,000 in debt that is not a lot for a self employed couple.
    Mayor Leppert meets with the Hispanic Chamber and Black Chambers, he meets with groups of Hispanics all the time. Why on earth would you people continue to make something out of nothing. No one Jim or others can find one contract Mayor Leppert has helped any Black person get. Name one Black person that has a contract with the City of Dallas dated after Mayor Leppert was sworn in that did not follow the process and had some connection to Leppert, Johnson or Shaw. The City Manager runs the City the Mayor has no authority to give anyone a contract. I am mad as hell and I will not take it any more, the lies, race baiting, one greedy group blaming another greedy group, Dallas is in a bad way and you haters are killing it.I am on the DHA board and I can count on one hand how many Hispanics or Blacks bid on any contracts. All both groups do is point fingers get up off your lazy ass and go after the work the White people do.
    My friend Lynn is Dead I will not hear her voice again, not see her smiling face ,not have lunch, not talk about politics. She and her family deserves a little respect from this community because she gave a lot of herself and did not take anything from the taxpayers.She did not kill herself, she would have faced her accusers. Give my friend a break close the book on her she is gone forever!

    Comment by Betty Culbreath — March 13, 2008 @ 09:26PM

  14. Jim Schutze and Sam Merten have thus far, given Dallas Observer readers some insight on this horrible circumstance. In this country, sometimes news is good, sometimes it is bad. Moreover, yesterday's news is past. Giving commentary to their articles is a right of freedom of speech in our country.

    Comment by Observer Reader — March 14, 2008 @ 06:24AM

  15. Ms.Betty I am sorry for the lost of your friend. I think all this bickering about race is disgraceful and I agree with the young man with the quote about having some decency. All I seem to hear is hispanics complaining about this and that well you know black people dont have it good either . We are both discrimated against so why fight with each other. Didnt your mother ever teach you that if you dont have anything nice to say not to say it at all. And if it really is that bad for hispanics and latinos why are there so many over here illegally? Why not stay where they ran away from? Its sad that in this day and time there are so many racists. I have myself have my opinions myself about every race even my own but everyone's opinion doesn't have to be voiced. My codolensence goes out to the son,family, and friend's of Mr.& Mrs. Shaw my prayers go out to you.

    Comment by Shocked — March 14, 2008 @ 08:33AM

  16. Whoah people,
    Two lives were saddly cut short. Although someone faces allegations, THEY ARE INNOCENT
    UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAW.
    Having cancer can depress a soul. After chemo-it can be worse. It is tragic that it led
    to such a conclusion. Both are in my prayers. The truth will come out in time. Now, is not the time to kick the dead, or make light of such a sad event. We are all depreciated when there is a loss of any of our citizens, or local leaders. The saddest thing is that no one involved gets to change their mind or reconsider the use of deadly force. We are
    going to have Easter soon, it is a time for respectful reflection about the value of life.

    Comment by Winston Smith — March 14, 2008 @ 10:16AM

  17. Something that Ms. Culbreath and others need to understand is that, ultimately, suicide is a *choice*. While the Shaws' capacity for decision-making may have been clouded by whatever stresses were going on in their lives, they still made choices. This world is complicated, and I'm not saying that choosing is a simple task. However, from all of the evidence thus far, their choice was a very conscious decision.

    Comment by warden62 — March 14, 2008 @ 11:16AM

  18. just wondering....conscious or unconscious - can this CITY have a little decency and stop bickering for ONE day - MARCH 18 - no matter what - these two human beings have some beautiful and yet hurting children, family members and friends - that have to live with this for the rest of their lives - JUST PUT YOURSELF - in their shoes - for just 111111111 second......just wondering how you would feel right now???..keep your head up kids...after Tuesday....it'll be done....the work they sat out do ...it is not complete...not even finised...but they have laid down their swords...for as I heard "neither death, nor life, not principalities, of this earth or that to come...can separate us...now that's for the true believers in the church and OUT of the church....whatever denomination....the enemy is ATTACKING...whose side are you on and who are you working for...pastors, politicians, people...just remember...words are cheap...and if you know whose you are...no blog...no editorial..no campaign...no deal...no corporation, no news paper ...tv station...editorial columnist... can SEPARATE...I just feel like shouting...for you two...RIDE ON RUFUS AND LYNN...what we view as painful...is nothing compared to what's going to happen when the REAL DEAL comes to the earth...and we won't even know who is he...just wondering...

    Comment by gbc — March 14, 2008 @ 10:57PM

  19. I like Betty Culbreath's point. No doubt that many people try to influence how and where tax money is spent. They range from individuals to think tanks to lobbyists. Ok Ms. Shaw had an interest in that. But please now show everyone how $ 1 was spent incorrectly. Please show us one contract that was ill gotten.

    Comment by wick olson — March 15, 2008 @ 09:23AM

  20. The authors of this article obviously did not do their homework. I thought that part of ethical journalism includes checking your sources and finding collateral sources to ensure that what you are printing is true. I want to set the record straight about the Inner Circle. It is not a group that was created to make sure minority contractors seeking city or DART work had to come through it in order to obtain contracts. It is a group that was created to collaborate about how to improve the southern sector of Dallas in a variety of ways. Topics of discussion range from education, economic development, truancy, banking for minority-owned businesses, to stray dogs in our community. As I recall, Mrs. Flint Shaw was only present at one meeting. I am a member of the Inner Circle who does not have a contract with the city and in no way benefit personally from my attendance or contributions to the meeting. You do the Mayor, Willis Johnson, and Lynn Flint Shaw a grave disservice by printing a story that is based on information that is completely false. You should issue a retraction and an apology.

    Jessica Dixon, Esq.
    Director, W.W. Caruth, Jr. Child Advocacy Clinic
    Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law

    Comment by Jessica Dixon — March 19, 2008 @ 12:25PM

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