A Prince George’s County police officer has admitted his role in an extortion scheme to smuggle untaxed cigarettes and alcohol.
Sgt. Richard Delabrer pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Greenbelt, making him the latest person to enter a plea in a wide-ranging probe of corruption in Prince George’s.
He was one of nine people — including two other county police officers — charged last fall in the cigarette scheme and a separate drug-trafficking case. Those indictments came on the heels of the arrest of then-County Executive Jack Johnson and his wife, Leslie, on corruption charges.
According to court records, Delabrer was paid to protect shipments of contraband cigarettes and liquor by following the vehicles transporting them. He told the other conspirators he would use his police identification to protect the shipments from any police interference and his gun to protect against any robbery attempt.
In total, he helped transport more than $17 million in contraband cigarettes, court documents say. Prosecutors estimate they conducted at least 33 transactions, costing the government more than $2.6 million in tax losses.
Two other people indicted in the alcohol and cigarettes scheme have pleaded guilty. Chun Chen, who runs a carry-out restaurant in Bowie, admitted in April that he bought cigarettes from Delabrer and others, then sold them in New York, where taxes on cigarettes are $8 a pack. Last week, Jose Moreno pleaded guilty to driving truckloads of contraband cigarettes in return for money.
Both are scheduled to be sentenced in July.
The cases against the others charged in the scheme, including county police Cpl. Chong Kim, are still pending.
Another member of the Prince George’s force, Officer Sinisa Simic, was charged with cocaine trafficking as part of the same probe, but in a separate indictment. A plea hearing is scheduled for next month.
The investigation into official corruption in the county first came to light when Jack and Leslie Johnson were arrested in November. He admitted last week that he operated a long-running pay-to-play scheme, accepting a $100,000 check and up to $1 million in gifts for steering public money to favored developers.
A plea hearing for Leslie Johnson — who was elected to the county council days before she was arrested — was scheduled for early May, but fell apart at the last minute. No further hearings have been set.
