A key member of the D.C. taxi industry group charged with conspiring to bribe public officials was planning to kill a confidential informant and destroy evidence, prosecutors said in court documents made public Wednesday.
On Sept. 24, D.C. Councilman Jim Graham’s chief of staff, Ted Loza, was charged with accepting a $1,500 bribe from a member of the taxi industry. The next day, media reports named Abdulaziz Kamus as the informant who wore a wire as he allegedly passed the cash to Loza, part of a scheme in which members of the taxi industry are accused of funneling as much as $350,000 to a D.C. official turned FBI informant.
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Prosecutors say that after learning of Kamus’ role in Loza’s arrest the morning of Sept. 25, Yitbaerk Syume met with an undercover FBI agent and an informant to discuss how they would keep their roles in the bribery scheme undetected. During the recorded conversation, Syume allegedly said he planned to kill Kamus.
“Don’t worry,” Syume reportedly told the agent and informant. Kamus will be “permanently eliminated.”
The informant then asked Syume when Kamus would be killed, and in his response Syume indicated he was working with others to execute Kamus, prosecutors said in court documents.
“They will come to me,” Syume said. “I will tell you.”
Syume then instructed the informant to “crash the computer” that held evidence of the alleged bribery scheme, documents said.
Last week, authorities charged 39 people with bribing public officials. In one indictment, Syume and two others were accused of giving D.C. Taxi Commission Chairman Leon Swain $220,000 during 2007 and 2008 to get permits for cab companies. In a separate indictment, Syume and 36 other men were accused of giving Swain more than $110,000 for individual taxi licenses.
But Swain didn’t keep the cash. Instead, he turned it over to the FBI and served as an informant.
On Thursday, prosecutors will try to convince a judge that Syume planned to kill Kamus and destroy evidence, and should be kept behind bars without bail.
Thomas Abbenante, Syume’s attorney, declined to comment on the allegations.
