Former County Executive Jack Johnson, now under indictment for allegedly taking bribes from developers in a “pay-to-play” scandal, liked to refer to his county as “Gorgeous Prince George’s.” A more accurate term would be “Lawless Prince George’s,” at least for more than a few of its officials. Johnson and his wife, Leslie — who currently sits on the County Council despite allegations that she stuffed $80,000 in bribe money in her bra to conceal it from FBI agents — bear a huge responsibility for setting a corrosive tone that money talks louder than the law. But they’re far from the only ones. Federal law enforcement officials say the Johnsons are merely “the tip of the iceberg” of public corruption in PG. On Monday, a 27-year-old Suitland man was shot and killed, marking the county’s 19th homicide since New Year’s Day. Most of the killings have been attributed to drug trafficking and gang activity – which is directly linked to the federal government’s refusal to seal the southern border and Maryland’s “sanctuary” policies that serve as a magnet for illegal immigrants and encourages foreign criminals to set up shop in American communities.
Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, told The Examiner that “sophisticated and disciplined criminal networks are entrenched in 270 American cities. They bring drugs in and ship truckloads of cash back to Mexico.” These international gangsters are poisoning and killing children in Prince George’s while federal and Maryland state officials shirk their constitutional duty to enforce anti-illegal immigration laws.
There’s also rot in the Prince George’s County Police Department. A police academy instructor was caught tampering with test scores, but the professional qualifications of 34 students who graduated in the Class of 2009 and went to work for Prince George’s were never questioned. And last year, federal agents uncovered a brisk black market in untaxed cigarettes and alcohol that resulted in the suspension of 46 Prince George’s police officers. Despite rampant lawlessness from the county executive’s suite to Prince George’s increasingly bloody streets, not one complaint was filed with the county’s Board of Ethics last year. Not one. Although current County Executive Rushern Baker inherited this mess, he is nevertheless responsible for cleaning it up. But instead of taking decisive action, Baker is asking a task force to decide whether appointing an independent inspector general with genuine oversight authority is necessary. Isn’t the answer pretty obvious?
