HOUSTON (AP) - A former Texas Southern University student is expected to continue his testimony after revealing he was paid $5,000 by the FBI to tape university officials in the midst of a corruption investigation.

The Houston Chronicle reports Oliver Brown and two other former students filed a civil lawsuit against TSU officials for allegedly thwarting their First Amendment rights by disciplining them for their anti-corruption speech. The lawsuit alleges they were retaliated against for exposing corruption at the university.

Known as the "TSU Three," Brown, William Hudson and Justin Jordan, helped bring to light a spending scandal that led to plea bargains with ex-school President Priscilla Slade, who promised to repay $130,000, and former CFO Quintin Wiggins, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Brown said he received a lump sum after working as a federal informant for 18 months, beginning in 2005.

An assistant Texas attorney general representing TSU officials, Peter Plotts, said the focus of the case isn't on protected speech but that the former students were disciplined for separate threatening or abusive speech.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)