Tex. Troopers’ Group to Close After Lawsuit Over Spending

An Austin, Tex.-based foundation ostensibly established to support the families of slain state troopers will shut down under an agreement with state officials who accused the group of misleading donors and misusing contributions, according to the Austin American-Statesman and the Houston Chronicle.

The Texas Highway Patrol Association will dissolve and close its Texas Highway Patrol Museum in San Antonio as part of a settlement with the state attorney general’s office, which sued the charity in December. The pact also permanently bans most of the organization’s leaders from overseeing any entity in Texas related to law enforcement.

The group’s assets will be turned over to law-enforcement agencies or sold, with proceeds going to troopers’ families, whom state officials said never received $10,000 death benefits promised by the charity.

The association raised some $12-million from 2004 to 2009 but used less than 1 percent of the money to support troopers and their families, according to tax records.