This land is Frisco’s land, this land is Developer’s Land

From the PGA to Stonebriar Centre

From the Toyota Stadium to the Cowboy Star

This land was never made for you or me!

For some time now we have questioned the campaign finance reports of local leaders.  Back in February of 2023 we wrote about Dark Money where we laid out how individuals associated with the PGA, The Link, or Fields projects donated to our current sitting city council members.  If you haven’t read it, you should because it is alarming.  Then just two months ago we asked the question, did Keating and Pelham accept “DIRTY FUNDS?”  We are talking about the $10,000 Keating took and $5000 Pelham took in 2021 from Veton Krasniqi, a man who appears to owe the school district $24,093.47 in back taxes.  How did we learn about this, a campaign finance report.  As we said they can be Shakespearean sonnets of bureaucratic paperwork.

The influence of money, particularly from developers or other vested interests, in local Frisco elections is a well-known issue.  In local elections, where the scale is smaller and the issues can be more directly related to specific projects or zoning decisions, developer money can have a significant impact. Developers may contribute to election campaigns of candidates who are perceived as more favorable to their interests, such as those who may be more likely to approve zoning changes or development projects. 

Sometimes things are as simple as they appear, developer donations have a direct correlation to the influence of policy decisions in Frisco.  Elected officials will always support policies or projects favored by developers who have supported their campaigns financially.  That is why Keating’s most current campaign finance report filed 4/4/2024 should shock any resident with common sense. 

When you look at Keating’s campaign finance report you quickly notice that many are developers, several don’t live here, and he is quick to spend a lot of money with consultants.   To understand the first set of donors you need to understand the developer relationships at the PGA, The Link, and Fields.

Todd Armstrong, EVP and his partner Philip Rose at Cross Tie Capital each donated $1000.  A DMN article listed Cross Tie Capital, based in Grapevine, as a family-owned real estate, oil and gas, and investment company.   On the Republic Property Group website, it states, “The Frisco mega-development is being built with Hunt Realty, Karahan Cos., Republic Property Group, Chief Partners LP and Cross Tie Capital Ltd. and could be valued more than $10 billion.” 

We are curious why the Cross Tie Capital website says it is “not secure” and appears to be inactive.  Then we checked OpenCorporates and noticed the company has (2) Texas TIN numbers.  Under both TIN numbers, the status is listed as “Forfeited Existence”, and the Dissolution Date is the same which is 02/23/2024.  Things that make you go hmmm, that is the same day Todd Armstrong made his $1000 and Rose made his on 2/25/24.  Suspicious?

Next, we have the one and only, Fehmi Karahan of the Karahan Companies.  He is the mastermind behind Legacy West and the key player in the Fields development.  A campaign finance report would not be complete without a $2500 donation from Fehmi.  We almost feel badly for Keating because he obviously is not as valuable as Cheney who took in over $30k from him between cash and in-kind donations.  Fehmi’s attorneys also donated.  Jeff Brawner and RJ Grogan each donated $500, and they are partners at Grogan & Brawner PLC.  According to one of the many city council meetings during the planning phase of this 10-billion-dollar deal, the City of Frisco Attorney Richard Abernathy said he spoke at length to Mr. Karahan’s attorneys whom he identified as Grogan & Brawner PLC. 

The interesting thing about Fehmi Karahan, is that he donates mostly to republicans, but he did donate to Democrat, Colin Allred. He apparently is not a Trump fan either because he donated over $5000 to Nikki Haley in 2023. His attorney Jeff Brawner donated $500 to Eric Johnson in 2009 when he was a registered Democrat. 

The $1000 donation list from the founders connected to the Fields/The PGA/The Link development continues with Colin Fitzgibbons, President at Hunt Realty, Chris Kleinert, CEO at Hunt Realty Investments, and William Vanderstraaten of Chief Partners.  Lastly you have Mario Sinacola & Sons who are the excavating group for this big project.  James Sinacola, Joseph Sinacola, and Michael Sinacola each donated $1000. 

Colin Fitzgibbons according to OpenSecrets.org appears to be hard democrat who has donated to Joe Biden, Act Blue, Colin Allred, donated.   Chris Kleinert also donated to Colin Allred in 2023, as well as Mitt Romney in 2012.  William Vanderstraaten supports Trump with several donations. 

Then we saw the name Ryan Griffin from Rockhill Capital & Investments who donated $1000 dollars.  We remember that name from Cheney’s 2020 report which had him listed as FCS Construction.  We googled the address on Keatings current report and tada, FSC Construction and Rockhill Capital & Investments both office there.  Ryan is listed as the President of FSC Construction and Rockhill has him listed as the Principal & Chief Executive Officer.   FCS is currently involved in Fields based on a DMN report and Rockhill was involved with the Estates at Rockhill, and Stonebrook Crossing. Rockhill’s current project is The Preserve – Phase 1 where they are the Construction management for 132 residential lots for Shaddock Homes.  I WONDER IF THEY BUILT KEATINGS NEW HOME HE IS CLOSING ON IN THE PRESERVE SOON, that he announced at council a few weeks ago.

As for Ryan Griffin he has donated over $20K to State Rep Jared Patterson, and to a group called Patriots Always Triumph. 

Then we saw two names, Richard Reupke and Robert Shaw (each donated $1000) who built Twelve, a high luxury high rise next to The Star.  The night of the meeting, I remember them saying it was just a big club house for Jerry Jones and his buddies to have near The Star and of course they would occupy the two top floors.  We were curious why they would donate when they have no active projects. You guessed it, they do have an active project right now and it happens to be in North Fields.  Of course, we assumed it would be more luxury homes, but we were wrong.  They plan to build a “RENTAL COMMUNITY PROJECT” and the first phase will be 620 apartment units.  If Keating is going to break any of his density promises to residents, it must be for a buck!

If you do the math, that means Keating took in about $14,500 just from those involved in active developments that connect Hunt and Karahan.  It also begs the question; with the money he has taken will he recuse himself from future votes on these projects?  Was there a quid pro quo which helped him afford a house as a single man in The Preserve?  How long had he kept his house a secret and did he vote at any time, on any project, after he put down his deposit or started building?

Next on the report was Craig Hall and the Hall Group, who is all for the City of Frisco having an arts center.  Hall donated $5000 to Keating.  We went to OpenSecrets to see the types of candidates Hall donates to and well he is a hard Democrat.  Names like Nancy Pelosi, the National DNC and several state-by-state DNC groups, Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, Royce West of TX, Colin Allred, Beto O’Rourke and many more.  One article on NBC News from 2019 said, “The couple has since given a minimum of $2 million to Democratic Party committees and have donated substantial amounts to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to an analysis of data from the Federal Election Commission.”  It goes on to talk about how the Halls like to spend time between California and Texas and how federal regulators had been zeroing in on a series of Hall’s unpaid loans.  Another article on MSN.com in Feb 2024 talks about how Hall’s California winery and how the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a subpoena seeking information from several Napa winery owners including the Hall’s. 

Some other honorable mentions in Keatings report include Joseph Hansen TYME Capital Holdings (bank) – $1000 and the connection appears to be their Veteran status.  Then you have the supposed to be Conservative Laura Rummell who donated $500 to Keating’s campaign and is actively promoting him and fighting against the Frisco Fire Fighters who she took money and an endorsement from.  We are assuming Laura has joined the exclusive you donate to me, and I donate to your council club so how could she ever be impartial if an ethics concern came up.   We don’t expect much from Laura, to be honest she sold a bill of goods to those who voted for her and put her there.  Chances are she will be easy to beat next time she is up for re-election.    Our new nickname for her Rollin Out Rummell, it is just a matter of time.

The icing on the cake with a cherry on top is James Webb who on 2/7/24 donated $5000 to Keating.  It lists him as the Chairman of Paradigm Development Holdings.  Something about this name kept ringing a bell like a little butler boy when you want butter.  We found a previous donation from Webb for $2500 in 2017 to Keating.  We of course googled and came across an article from the Dallas Morning News in 2016 with the headline, “Major Ken Paxton donor paying $3.5 million settlement after MEDICAID FRAUD PROBE.  

Preferred Imaging LLC, a medical diagnostic company headed by James H. Webb of Frisco, allegedly performed services that required the oversight of a supervising doctor without one on-site.  According to DMN, “Preferred Imaging LLC did not admit to any wrongdoing or liability in the case. The settlement came after an investigation led by federal and state authorities, including the Civil Medicaid Fraud Division within Paxton’s agency, according to John Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.”  That means when Keating took the money in 2017 and he should have known about Webb’s “issues” and still accepted the money then and is still accepting it NOW! 

There is more to cover in Keatings report, and we will look at that in the next blog drop. 

“Well, clearly Keating’s campaign finance report shows that he or some of his friends, meaning Mayor Cheney, called in their chips for donations.  Keating probably thinks he could be the next Mayor of Frisco, but he might want to work more on his resident outreach than dating a dental hygienist who can help with him some gold-plated teeth.  With as much money as Keating has raised and some of it from questionable donors again, we think he should just fund a yacht party for unicorns and leprechauns and ride a magical wave hoping his constituents appreciate his ability to play both sides of the fence.  Mr. Go Along to Get Along! 

Keep checking back because we have a lot to drop!

Special Thanks To Our Frisco Whistle Blower Researchers – you know who you are!