Former Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson was indicted Monday on eight federal corruption-related charges, accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes during most of his eight-year tenure in a pay-to-play conspiracy involving developers and businessmen.
Johnson, 61, is charged with conspiracy, extortion and bribery as well as tampering with a witness and evidence. The indictment, filed in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, details seven years of Johnson taking bribes.
In return for bribes, Johnson used his position to help developers and businessmen secure favors like federal grants to build affordable housing in the county, the indictment says. He also pressured the businessmen to help fund his wife Leslie’s campaign for County Council.
The indictment comes three months after the FBI arrested the Johnsons following a raid of their Mitchellville home. During the well-publicized incident, Johnson told Leslie to stuff $79,600 in cash down her bra and to flush a check down the toilet, according to FBI transcripts of their phone conversation.
The indictment describes bribes of money, trip expenses, meals, drinks, hotel rooms, airline tickets, rounds of golf, employment, mortgage payments and campaign contributions.
“You know, we were able to get the, ah, young lady appointed,” Johnson told one developer — only described in the indictment as Developer A — last year after promising to arrange employment for an associate of the businessman, according to the indictment.
The first bribe detailed by the FBI dates to 2003. Johnson took office in 2002.
During a press conference at the federal courthouse in Greenbelt Monday, U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said the FBI is continuing to investigate county officials and more arrests are likely.
“We anticipate there will be additional defendants and additional charges,” he said.
Johnson declined to comment, but proclaimed his innocence in November. Leslie, now a County Councilwoman, has not been indicted.
“Though expected, it is nonetheless disappointing that the government has gone to this extreme by returning an indictment that seriously mischaracterizes Mr. Johnson’s tenure as Prince George’s County executive,” said Johnson’s attorney, Billy Martin.
Some of the developers and business people concealed over-the-limit campaign contributions by providing contributions such as campaign signs, food and alcohol, according to the indictment.
Many of the developers and businessmen listed in the indictment are referred to only as “Public Official A,” “Developer A” and “Candidate A.” Rosenstein, citing policy not to name people who haven’t been charged, declined to say whether “Candidate A” is serving in an elected position.
But authorities did list 51-year-old Amrik Singh Melhi, who owned a number of liquor stores in Maryland, as a businessman who illegally gave Johnson money.
Melhi has been charged in a separate indictment over a scheme that involves distributing untaxed cigarettes and alcohol.
The FBI recorded many phone conversations of Johnson, who was under surveillance. On Sept. 27, for example, he told a former county official: “Hey look, um, somebody, somebody called me today and, um, I’m going to ask them for, um, um, $4,000 to help pay off this bill.”
