The owner of a carry-out restaurant pleaded guilty Friday in an extortion scheme involving Prince George’s County police officers, according to federal prosecutors in Maryland.
Chun Chen, 35, of Bowie, is the first defendant to plead guilty in a long-running corruption investigation that resulted in the arrest of three officers. The wide-ranging probe also led to the arrest of County Executive Jack Johnson and his wife.
Prosecutors said Chen bought untaxed cigarettes from two men, including a Prince George’s County police officer, and then sold the contraband in New York where taxes on cigarettes are more than $8 a pack.
Chen and other members of the conspiracy paid more than $1.7 million dollars for 17 million contraband cigarettes.
Chen, also known as Eddy, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
