WASHINGTON -- It's a provocative question: Did Kellie Williams, who played Steve Urkel's love interest Laura Winslow on the TV sit-com "Family Matters" in the late 1980s and '90s, give a $25,000 kickback in the scheme that sent former D.C. Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. to federal prison?
That's what Washington City Paper's Loose Lips thinks might have happened:
An examination of court records, tax filings, and emails obtained through several Freedom of Information Act requests raises the question of whether Kellie Williams, the actress who played Laura Winslow, is the unnamed "INDIVIDUAL #1" who prosecutors say in court records used a youth arts program to help Thomas steal city money.
Thomas resigned from the council in January and later pleaded guilty in a scheme where he admitted to stealing more than $350,000 in government funds and filing false tax returns. In May, Thomas was sentenced to 38 months in prison.
Loose Lips says there's "no definitive proof in the court records, tax filings, and emails" that were examined that Williams is "INDIVIDUAL #1," but the political columnist walks readers through the evidence to let them decide for themselves.
Williams, a former children's fashion model, moved back to the D.C. area after "Family Matters" ended in 1998 and started a youth arts training group called the Kellie Williams Programs that's been dormant since 2008, according to City Paper. Williams, who lives in Prince George's County, Md., hasn't been responsive to City Paper's inquiries on the matter.
Read Loose Lips' full account here.
CORRECTION: This post has been updated to reflect Harry Thomas' correct position on the D.C. Council when he was a member and to clarify that Laura Winslow was Steve Urkel's love interest, not his girlfriend.