It started on the Internet

Halliburton senior vice-president and six others nabbed in prostitution sting

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TopNewsToday.org
Joseph Francis Andolino
Photo courtesy of Harris County Sheriff’s Office

A Halliburton senior vice president and six others were arrested Thursday in an undercover prostitution sting in north Harris County. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office vice unit focused on suspects soliciting sex online and set up the sting operation from a motel located off I-45 and FM 1960.

Female undercover deputies advertised as escorts on the Internet and arranged for solicitors to meet them at the prearranged location. Once suspects arrived and made an agreement with the undercover deputies to receive sexual services in exchange for money, they were arrested, an official said.

Those arrested included Joseph Andolino, 59, who joined Halliburton as senior vice president of the tax department in 2011. On the Halliburton website, Andolino is included on the list of the company's top corporate officers.

Also charged with soliciting prostitution were Eric Lucero, 43; Jose Dubon, 42; Richard Wayne Learn, 65; Richard Anthony Thompson, 51; Dean Andrew Starke, 52; and Michael Allen Barth, 50.

In an email, Halliburton confirmed that Andolino works for the company. "We expect our officers and employees to maintain high standards of professional and personal conduct, but we do not comment on personal matters," a company representative wrote.

The sheriff's office will continue to conduct similar reverse prostitution operations targeting not only those who solicit sex but those who sell sex as well, an official said.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”