Jack B. Johnson

Last updated
Jack B. Johnson
6th Executive of Prince George's County
In office
December 2, 2002 –December 6, 2010 [1]

Johnson was elected county executive in 2002 and re-elected in 2006. [8] He served until his term expired on December 6, 2010.

A November 20, 2006, article in The Washington Post detailed excessive travel expenses claimed by Johnson:

Johnson flew business class to Senegal in December 2005 to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for homes built by a local developer. The cost of his travel was $6,003, charged to the county, and paid for by taxpayers. Johnson was quoted as saying, "I always fly business class or first class. I think the people of Prince George's County expect me to. I don't think they expect me to be riding in a seat with four across and I'm in the middle." Johnson again generated controversy by staying at the luxurious Bellagio Hotel and The Wynn when traveling to Las Vegas for recent shopping center conventions, two of the most expensive hotels in the city. [9]

Corruption charges

In 2010, the Office of the Maryland State Prosecutor began investigating whether Johnson and four other Prince George's County council members had solicited bribes and favors while deliberating on a one-million-dollar annual lease for a county agency. [10]

On November 12, 2010, Jack Johnson and his wife Leslie were arrested by the FBI as part of the federal probe of political corruption in Prince George's County. They were charged with witness tampering and destruction of evidence. [2] According to court documents filed by the FBI, Johnson is accused of taking kickbacks and bribes in exchange for helping a developer secure federal funding for housing developments. Johnson can be heard on a wiretap instructing Leslie to locate and flush a $100,000 check from the developer down a toilet at their home and to hide $79,600 in cash in her bra as FBI agents knocked at the door of their home with a search warrant. [11] The Johnsons were charged with crimes that carried a sentence of up to 20 years in jail for each offense, but they were both released with Jack Johnson being placed on home detention with electronic monitoring. [12] Johnson remained in office until December 6, when his term expired; Leslie was sworn in as a newly elected county council member on the same day; however, she was not eligible to remain in the office if she were convicted of a felony. [13] [14]

On February 14, 2011, Johnson was indicted for allegedly soliciting more than $200,000 in bribes as part of a conspiracy that dates back to 2003. While Johnson is the only person named in the indictment, two unnamed developers were named co-conspirators in the indictment. The indictment reports that the FBI recorded conversations between Johnson, a developer and the county director of housing where cash bribes were solicited. [15]

On May 17, 2011, Johnson agreed to a plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to extortion and witness- and evidence-tampering. [3] Following Johnson's hearing, federal prosecutors revealed that former county housing director James Johnson (no relation) and developers Mirza Hussein Ali Baig and Patrick Ricker had pleaded guilty as part of a larger corruption probe. [3] Leslie Johnson had been scheduled to plead guilty on May 3, but the hearing was abruptly canceled. [16] Leslie Johnson pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges on June 30, 2011. [17]

On December 6, 2011, Johnson was sentenced to seven years and three months in Butner federal prison in North Carolina. He was also fined $100,000. [18]

Johnson continued serving his sentence after a move to the Cumberland Federal Correctional Institution, with prisoner number 52777-037. [4] On December 15, 2016, Johnson was released to a federal halfway house near Baltimore to serve the remainder of his sentence. [5] He was released from federal custody in June 2017 after serving more than five years, which included a reduction for good behavior. [6]

Personal life

Johnson had lived with wife, Leslie Johnson, who was a co-conspirator in the 2010 FBI investigation, and his three children in Mitchellville, Maryland. [19] He is a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. [19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Jack B. Johnson, County Executive". Maryland Archives. October 27, 2010. Archived from the original on August 18, 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Castaneda, Ruben; Thomas, Avis (November 12, 2010). "Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson arrested". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 Castaneda, Ruben; Spivack, Miranda S. (May 17, 2011). "Johnson, ex-county executive in Prince George's, pleads guilty to taking bribes". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  4. 1 2 "Inmate Locator". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Archived from the original on December 16, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Ex-Prince George's Co. Exec Jack Johnson at Halfway House After Release From Federal Prison". NBC Washington. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Thompson, Cheryl W. (June 2, 2017). "Jack B. Johnson being released after five years in prison". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Schwartzman, Paul (September 6, 2002). "Johnson a Confident Candidate; Scrappy Prosecutor Dismisses Criticism". The Washington Post. pp. B01.
  8. ↑ Helderman, Rosalind (September 13, 2006). "Johnson Claims Reelection Win". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  9. ↑ Thompson, Cheryl W. (November 20, 2006). "Prince George's Taxpayers Pick Up Officials' Personal Tabs". The Washington Post.
  10. ↑ Valentine, Daniel (June 21, 2010). "State looking into Prince George's County bribery complaints, source says". Gazette.Net. Post-Newsweek Media, Inc. Archived from the original on June 24, 2010. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  11. ↑ Schwartzman, Paul; Castaneda, Ruben; Thompson, Cheryl W. (November 12, 2010). "Jack Johnson, Prince George's county executive, and his wife, Leslie arrested". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
  12. ↑ "Affidavit: Pr. George's Co. exec, wife took bribes". WTOP-FM . November 12, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Jack Johnson says he is innocent". The Washington Post. November 12, 2010. Archived from the original on June 10, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  14. ↑ Laris, Michael; Spivack, Miranda S. (November 12, 2010). "Jack Johnson's arrest rocks Prince George's government workers". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  15. ↑ Glod, Maria; Wiggins, Ovetta (February 15, 2011). "Pr. George's Johnson is charged with taking bribes". The Washington Post. p. A1.
  16. ↑ Castaneda, Ruben; Spivack, Miranda S. (May 2, 2011). "Court date in Pr. George's corruption case canceled, prosecutors say". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  17. ↑ "Convicted Maryland Councilwoman Stands to Gain $28,000 By Refusing to Resign". FoxNews.com. July 2, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  18. ↑ Moore, Marcus J.; Nemeth, Sarah (December 6, 2011). "For Jack Johnson, A Fall From Grace". Upper Marlboro Patch. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  19. 1 2 Corpening Rowe, Carolyn; Taylor Thomas, Jane; Babin Woods, Beverly (2003). Prince George's County, Maryland. Arcadia Publishing. p. 54. ISBN   0-7385-1562-0.
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