Silver lining

High-profile splits sure help the real estate market: Dallas divorces and thehomes left behind

Madeleine and T. Boone Pickens recently announced they were ending theirmarriage.
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Rhonda and Troy Aikman split in late 2010.
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Willa Ford and Mike Modano filed for divorce in August 2012.
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Now that the economy is pepping up, is everyone booking appointments with their divorce attorneys? All I know is the D-word delights the luxury Realtors in Dallas: cha-ching, a home sale! Let's take a look at the most memorable divorces in Big D and how their collective real estate fared:

Madeleine and T. Boone Pickens announced this week they are calling it quits. First I said, "Oh no." Then I checked MLS; the Pickens home on Alva Court has not yet hit the market.

Troy and Rhonda Aikman split in late 2010. Their house was on the market and just went off. Rhonda bought a home in Preston Hollow.

Mike Modano and Willa Ford — what in the world? All I can say is, if being a hot model, having a gorgeous Preston Hollow home and owning those precious golden retrievers isn't enough, then what is? Modano and Ford filed for divorce in August. As of this writing, their home has not hit the market.

Ed and Lee Bailey split in 2011. If I ever get a divorce, Lee Bailey is the first person I'm calling. She dumped Ed and bought Braden Power's party mansion on Turtle Creek — and promptly put the swimming pool back in the foyer. You go, girl! (Much better trade.)

Nancy and Norman Brinker divorced in 2003 after 20 years of marriage. Norman kept the house the dynamo couple shared on Alva Court, just up the street from the Pickens' manse. He lived in Alva Court with wife no. 3 until the day he died; now she still can't seem to shed it.

Meanwhile, over in Tarrant County, Sean and Beth Peytonfiled for divorce in June. I just have to wonder if that disco had anything to do with it. Recall the Peytons bought a 7,785 square foot home on Brazos Drive in Vaquero with everything, including pool, master study, gameroom, and disco with a lighted floor and glass ball. Too much living on the wild side?

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Real Estate News

Dallas real estate developer pleads guilty to bribing 2 city officials

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Dallas developer Sherman Roberts

Dallas real estate developer Sherman Roberts pleaded guilty on November 12 to conspiracy to commit bribery, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Roberts, 70, who previously helmed City Wide Community Development Corporation, was indicted in December 2020. According to court documents, Sherman bribed two city council members — Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway and City Council member Carolyn Davis — to support loans and low-income housing tax credits for his apartment projects.

In return for several thousand dollars in cash – plus the promise of future payments after her city council tenure ended – Davis lobbied for Roberts' real estate projects, including Serenity Place, Runyon Springs, and Patriot’s Crossing.

She promoted Serenity Place to the City Housing Committee, demanded other developers also seeking real estate funding withdraw their applications in order to increase Roberts' chances of success, recommended Serenity Place receive a 9 percent low income housing tax credit, and voted to approve a $1.9 million loan from the city of Dallas.

“Right now you and me are making money,” Roberts texted Davis shortly after the vote.

Later, she repeatedly reached out to ask for more money — "just a few dollars" — and he agreed.

Davis and Roberts then met with Caraway to address a problem with the Patriot's Crossing project. In return for several hundred dollars cash and a $2,000 monthly stipend, Caraway agreed to stop the city from issuing a request for proposal (RFP) for the Patriots Crossing project and to deliver the project for Roberts.

“How much is the project worth?” Mayor Pro Tem Caraway asked. “Once you’re successful with this project, don’t forget about me.”

“I won’t forget about you,” Mr. Roberts responded. “That’s where the money is… the money has never been an issue.”

Roberts now faces up to five years in federal prison. He is slated to be sentenced on March 12, 2025.

Caraway pleaded guilty in 2019 to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and tax evasion and was sentenced to more than four years in federal prison.

Davis pleaded guilty in 2019 to conspiracy to commit bribery concerning an agent of a local government receiving federal benefits, but passed away in a car crash before she could be sentenced.

Roberts was one of three real estate developers charged in connection with the bribery scandal. Devin Hall, the developer behind the Grand Park Place apartment project, pleaded guilty in August 2020. Ruel Hamilton, the AmeriSouth Realty Group executive who backed the Royal Crest housing project, is awaiting retrial on conspiracy and bribery charges.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of IRS – Criminal Investigation’s Dallas Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcus Busch is prosecuting the case with the help of Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna Max.