John E. Brownell, the chief financial officer for DouglasDevelopment Corp., pleaded guilty to tax evasion Thursday, the third company official convicted of felony charges.
Brownell, 45, of Rockville, faces five years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Columbia.
Brownell’s boss, Douglas Jemal, the flamboyant developer accused of bribing a D.C. government official, was found guilty last year in federal court of wire fraud. The company’s second-highest executive, Blake Esherick, was found guilty of wire fraud and two counts of tax evasion. They are expected to be sentenced in the next two months.
Justice officials said that Douglas Development made more than $270,000 in payments on behalf of Brownell and disguised them in the company’s records.
Brownell is the fifth person convicted of felony charges stemming from an investigation into the relationship between developers and D.C. government officials.
Construction contractor Fernando Villegas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe a D.C. official. And Michael Lorusso pleaded guilty to taking bribes from Villegas and Douglas Development.
During the Jemal trial, Lorusso testified that he finagled sweetheart contracts for Jemal and falsified invoices so that Douglas Development received nearly $1 million for work it never performed.
Jemal’s high-powered defense team successfully argued that the businessman was simply giving gifts to a friend and trying to help District leaders out of their own political and financial problems.
The jury rejected Lorusso’s testimony and acquitted the company officials of the bribery charges.
