Jack B. Johnson

Ex-Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson Sentenced To Over Seven Years In Bribery Case

Ryan J. Reilly | December 6, 2011, 12:23PM

Former Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson, the Maryland Democrat who told his wife to flush a check down the toilet and stuff thousands of dollars of cash in her bra as FBI agents knocked on the door of their home, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison on Tuesday. He was also given three years of supervised release and ordered to undergo alcohol counseling and pay a $100,000 fine.

The judge called Johnson's acts "a deliberate march down a long path of kleptocracy." Johnson's lawyers had argued that a long prison term would be a death sentence for Johnson, who is 62.

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Topics: Corruption, Jack B. Johnson, Jack Johnson, Leslie Johnson, Prince George's County

Jack Johnson

Feds: Jack Johnson's Glossy 'Legacy' Booklets Highlight 'Hypocrisy And Self-Delusion'

Ryan J. Reilly | November 22, 2011, 3:22PM

Before Jack Johnson left public office in late 2010 -- and prior to his arrest in a massive corruption scandal -- the former Prince George's County Executive had 250,000 glossy booklets printed up with the title "A Legacy: Leadership, Service." Taxpayers paid $226,597 to have them printed. There they are pictured above, sitting in a warehouse.

Now a copy of the booklet is "Attachment A" in a sentencing memo filed on Monday by federal prosecutors, who use Johnson's own quotes in the booklet against him.

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Topics: Corruption, Jack B. Johnson, Jack Johnson, Leslie Johnson, Prince George's County

Jack Johnson

Feds Recommend Significant Sentence In Jack Johnson Corruption Case

Ryan J. Reilly | November 22, 2011, 12:45PM

Former Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson (D) should get a sentence of up to 14 years in prison for his "audacious behavior" which "understandably captured the public's attention and harmed the reputation of Maryland's second-largest county and its 850,000 residents," federal prosecutors said in a sentencing memo this week.

According to the memo, obtained by TPM from the U.S. Attorney's office (it wasn't available in electronic court system), a stiff sentence would be a "deterrent message" and "will resonate significantly with other public officials tempted to engage in similar conduct." They're recommending a judge stay within the recommending sentencing guidelines, which could send Johnson to jail for up to 14 years.

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Topics: Corruption, DOJ Public Integrity, Jack Johnson, Justice Department, Leslie Johnson, Prince George's County

Jack Johnson

AUDIO: Ex-Councilwoman Stuffs Cash In Bra, Flushes Check As FBI Knocks On Door

Ryan J. Reilly | November 15, 2011, 5:52AM

FBI agents arrested former Prince George's County, Maryland Executive (and Golden Duke nominee) Jack B. Johnson and his wife Leslie Johnson over a year ago in a corruption plot involving development deals. Thanks to a federal wiretap, transcripts told us that Jack and Leslie chatted about flushing dirty money down the toilet and stuffing cash in her "panties." Now there's audio.

Ahead of Leslie's sentencing on Dec. 9, federal prosecutors have disclosed tapes of Johnson and Johnson discussing -- as FBI agents knocked on the door of the couple's home -- about where to hide cash they acquired though corrupt relationships with developers.

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Topics: Corruption, Jack B. Johnson, Jack Johnson, Justice Department, Leslie Johnson, Prince George's County

Prince George's County

Mugshots Released In Prince George's County Corruption Scandal

Melissa Jeltsen | March 16, 2011, 10:24AM

The scandal started with a check flushed down the toilet, a cash-stuffed bra and the arrest of Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson and his wife Leslie for alleged corruption. But the additional arrests that ensued exposed a wide-ranging tobacco and alcohol smuggling ring in the D.C. suburbs.

TPM just received the mugshots of eight people who were arrested in the Prince George's County corruption probe. Check out our slideshow to see the players and learn more about how store owners and police allegedly teamed up to smuggle untaxed booze and cigarettes into Maryland.

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Topics: Corruption, Jack B. Johnson, Jack Johnson, Prince George's County

Jack B. Johnson

Feds: Md. Politician Solicited Donations On Behalf Of Alleged Bra-Stuffing Wife

Ryan J. Reilly | February 14, 2011, 2:03PM

The other shoe has dropped for Jack B. Johnson, the former executive of Prince George's County, Maryland, who rose to fame when he allegedly told his wife to stuff cash in her bra as FBI agents raided their home as part of a corruption investigation.

The Valentine's Day indictment of Jack Johnson on conspiracy, extortion and bribery charges, first reported by TBD, leaves out his wife, Prince George's County Councilwoman Leslie Johnson, who has already been charged in the bra-stuffing episode. But Leslie Johnson's name and campaign does come up plenty of times in the indictment against her husband.

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Topics: Corruption, Jack B. Johnson, Justice Department, Leslie Johnson, Prince George's County

Jack B. Johnson

Feds: Md. County Executive Told Wife To Hide Cash In Bra, Flush Check

Ryan J. Reilly | November 12, 2010, 7:27PM

Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson and his wife, who was just elected to the county council herself, were arrested at their home in a D.C. suburb on Friday and charged with trying to hide or destroy evidence of a bribe by a local contractor.

How did Leslie Johnson reportedly try to destroy a check and hide the allegedly ill-gotten cash? By flushing the check down the toilet and stuffing tens of thousands of dollars in cash in her bra, according to the FBI.

Leslie Johnson is said to have been speaking to her husband on the phone at around 10:10 a.m., shortly after he was questioned and searched by FBI agents as part of an investigation involving bribes from developers, according to an affidavit by FBI Special Agent Wendy H. Munoz. Two female federal agents were knocking at the door of the home, looking to execute a search warrant. During that conversation, apparently taped by investigators, Jack Johnson allegedly told Leslie Johnson to put "the cash" in her underwear. "I have it in my bra," she allegedly replied.

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Topics: Corruption, FBI, Jack B. Johnson, Leslie Johnson, Prince George's County