Booking agent charged with theft over canceled concert

City Municipal Judge Ben Neece set bonds totaling $50,000 for an events promoter from Houston accused of swindling nearly $56,000 from the city of Brownsville and a local developer for concerts that never would take place.

At 8:30 a.m., Hiro Jamal Hariram, 33, dressed in a light blue shirt and dark slacks, stood handcuffed and quiet before Neece in Municipal Court at the Brownsville Police Department. His local attorney, Michael L. Young, was at his side.

At 6 a.m., Hariram had turned himself in to the police department after driving into Brownsville on Wednesday night.

Young argued for a $5,000 bond on each of the two charges for a total of $10,000, noting that his client turned himself in and that the higher the bond, the less money would be available for restitution.

Informed in the courtroom by police investigators of Hariram’s criminal history, Neece set the higher bonds, but said that he could revisit the bonds.

Assistant District Attorney Sam Smith argued for the higher bonds, noting that Hariram has other criminal charges pending against him from the Houston area.

Here in Brownsville, Hariram is accused of entering into fictitious booking contracts with the city and with Richard Hope of Hope Properties.

For more information on this developing story, stay with the www.BrownsvilleHerald.com.