Editing Sharpstown scandal (section)

==Outcome==
[[Gus Mutscher]] was indicted by the SEC in late 1971, and subsequently tried in [[Abilene, Texas|Abilene]] in 1972. He was found guilty of [[Conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]] for accepting a bribe from Sharp, and sentenced to five years’ probation. As a convicted felon, he was forced to resign his seat. Mutscher appealed the charges, and after the scandal had calmed down, the charges were overturned. He was then elected to [[County Judge#Texas|county judge]] of [[Washington County, Texas|Washington County]], and worked as a [[Political consulting|political consultant]] and [[Lobbying|lobbyist]] until his death in 2023. Sharp was also found guilty of violating federal banking and securities laws, and was sentenced to three years’ probation and a $5,000 fine. 

State Representative Tommy Shannon and Rush McGinty (one of Mutscher’s aides) were also convicted of accepting a bribe from Sharp, and sentenced to five years’ probation. 

Although none of the other elected officials were found guilty, the damage had already been done to the two Democratic politicians. 1972 was an election year, and everyone who was remotely connected to the scandal was defeated by more moderate Democrats, [[United States Republican Party|Republicans]], or other reform candidates.

Although not brought to trial, Governor [[Preston Smith (governor)|Preston Smith]] and Lieutenant Governor [[Ben Barnes (Texas politician)|Ben Barnes]] saw their political careers effectively ended. Smith, who called the special session to consider the NBL-favorable legislation and then sold his NBL stock for a $62,500 profit before vetoing the legislation,<ref>the year they threw the rascals out, pp. 59, 77; Charles Deaton, Shoal Creek Publishers, 1973.</ref> was defeated in the primaries by businessman [[Dolph Briscoe]] of [[Uvalde, Texas|Uvalde]].

Attorney General [[Crawford Martin]], who in 1967 issued a legal opinion that was said to have allowed a 2,200% increase in the bank’s capitalization, was defeated in the Democratic Primary for renomination by [[John Hill (Texas politician)|
John L. Hill]].<ref>the year they threw the rascals out, pp. 168–69.</ref>

The final impact of the stock fraud scandal on Texas politics occurred during the regular session of the legislature in 1973. The lawmakers, led by new House Speaker [[Price Daniel Jr.]] of [[Liberty, Texas|Liberty]], a political moderate and son of a former governor, supported by Attorney General Hill, Lieutenant Governor Hobby, and Governor Briscoe, passed a series of far-reaching reform laws. The legislation required state officials to disclose their sources of income, forced candidates to make public more details about their campaign finances, [[Texas Public Information Act|opened up most governmental records]] to citizen scrutiny, expanded the requirement for [[Texas Open Meetings Act|open meetings]] of governmental policy-making agencies, and imposed new disclosure regulations on paid lobbyists.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/mqs01
|title=SHARPSTOWN STOCK-FRAUD SCANDAL.|work=[[The Handbook of Texas Online]] |first=Sam |last=Kinch}}</ref>