Gonna Get Your Mama, Too!
The giant San Antonio-based law firm Heard, Goggan, Blair & Williams has long been known as a collector of politicians as well as overdue taxes. It became infamous over the past decade for the officials it wined, dined and put on its payroll in jurisdictions across Texas where it won contracts to collect delinquent property taxes.
Given that tawdry past, prospects are looking up for the firm as the millennium approaches. Not only is a merger pending that would fuse Heard, Goggan and archrival Calame, Linebarger, Graham & Pena into the undisputed private tax-collection giant of Texas, but Heard, Goggan -- which holds collection contracts with HISD and Harris County -- has just inked a contract with the U.S. Treasury Department that could open vast federal fields of delinquent green to the firm.
Heard, Goggan partner Steve Blair calls the Treasury contract, which excludes tax and student loan debt, "potentially very sizable" but won't attach a specific value. "There is more than $30 billion owed to the federal government in the category of nontax and non-student loan debt," Blair explains. "But there is uncertainty as to how much of it is going to be available to be collected immediately."
Under the contract, federal agencies ranging from Housing and Urban Development to the Agriculture Department will forward accounts more than 180 days in arrears to the Treasury, which will then assign them to private firms for collection within six months. Heard, Goggan is one of ten contractors nationwide to be selected for the work. The work is particularly attractive because the private collectors will keep as much as 26 percent of the debt they collect. By contrast, the state of Texas prohibits private collectors from keeping more than 20 percent of public debt collected, and Blair says the industry standard followed by his firm is 15 percent.
In Texas, Heard, Goggan handles all phases of collection work, from mailing overdue notices and placing follow-up phone calls to filing and prosecuting tax lawsuits. Its work for the federal government will not involve suing debtors, and will consist mostly of "skip tracing, locating debtors, phone calling and making payment schedules," says Blair. The Justice Department will handle legal action against those who refuse to clear their accounts.
Heard, Goggan's merger with Calame is expected before the end of the year, which should make for some interesting personnel mixes. Former Calame staffers routinely used to try to undercut Heard, Goggan in competition for contracts by faxing government officials the voluminous press clips on Heard, Goggan's past brushes with scandal.
Vince Ryan, the former city councilman who is Calame, Linebarger's regional managing attorney in Houston, used to be one of Heard, Goggan's most vocal critics. But Ryan offers a diplomatic spin on the marriage. "This combination will combine our way of doing business with some of their infrastructure, which is pretty impressive," says Ryan.
A lot of politicians who need extra income would probably prefer that the new merged firm keep doing business the old Heard, Goggan way.
A Contribution with Legs
Last week we noted that consultant Marc Campos had signed on with the Lee Brown campaign. It turns out that Campos's services, at least for a short period, were paid for by the city's delinquent-tax collector, the above-mentioned Calame, Linebarger, Graham & Pena, as an in-kind contribution to Brown. Campos says the Brown campaign wanted his services but preferred to have him paid by someone else, at least prior to the expected runoff. He figures the maneuvering had something to do with the fact that he's on the outs with certain members of Bob Lanier's inner circle, and their influence in the Brown campaign made his hiring a touchy subject.
Call The Insider at (713) 624-1483 or (713) 624-1496 (fax), or e-mail him at Insider@houstonpress.com.
