A federal jury on Friday convicted a former D.C. clerk of shaking down city business owners to clear up fines and licenses. Jurors deliberated less than two hours before finding Ikela Dean guilty of two counts of bribery.
She was convicted of taking cash in exchange for erasing “late fees” levied against downtown hotels for their elevator inspections.
She was arrested in September 2007 after a yearlong investigation and indicted on 14 counts of bribery, but U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton threw out 12 of the counts on Thursday, ruling that prosecutors hadn’t proved their case.
Dean was fired from the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, and officials are hoping that Dean’s conviction will send a signal through the bureaucracy that there’s a new day at the long-troubled agency. She’ll be sentenced early next year.
