The charges prosecutors brought against Prince George’s County Councilwoman Leslie Johnson on Friday for witness and evidence tampering signal a guilty plea is likely to be entered, according to sources close to the case. Federal prosecutors did not indict Johnson, but charged her by criminal information, something that often happens before a defendant admits guilt as part of a plea deal in federal court.
The criminal information replaces an original criminal complaint filed against Leslie Johnson, 59, a Democrat from Mitchellville, in November following an FBI raid of her home. A guilty plea to a felony would result in Johnson being forced off the County Council.
Prosecutors said they caught Leslie Johnson concealing bribes obtained by her husband. Shawn Wright, her attorney, declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office also declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Johnson’s husband, former County Executive Jack Johnson, is waiting for his trial date to be set in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. He has been indicted on eight corruption charges.
Jack Johnson, 61, stands accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from businessmen throughout his tenure as county executive. He pleaded not guilty in federal court March 15.
New court documents disclose more about how Jack Johnson was set up Nov. 15 by an informant described by prosecutors as “Developer A.” After being videotaped by the FBI taking $15,000 from Developer A in the businessman’s Laurel office, Johnson was ambushed by agents who entered the room and questioned him, the criminal information filing said.
Johnson then rushed out of the Laurel office using his county vehicle’s emergency lights to get home to warn his wife, the court documents state. The court papers said the FBI recorded Jack Johnson then calling his wife and telling her to hide the cash in her underwear.
“Put it … put it in your panties and walk out of the house,” Jack Johnson said, according to the transcript.
Prosecutors said Leslie Johnson destroyed a $100,000 check from a developer to her husband and hid $79,600 in cash.
A court date has not been scheduled for her yet. She faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
