U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced former Prince George’s County Executive Jack B. Johnson, age 62, of Mitchellville, Maryland, today to 87 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his leadership role in an extortion conspiracy wherein in exchange for bribes, Jack Johnson corruptly used his public office to engage in fraudulent actions including steering millions of dollars in federal and local funds to favored developers; and tampering with a witness and evidence. Judge Messitte also ordered that Jack Johnson pay a $100,000 fine and forfeit $78,000 and an antique Mercedes Benz.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeannine A. Hammett of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.
“Jack Johnson could have been a role model for integrity, but he chose to be a poster child for greed,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “The facts of this case read like a dime novel because the defendant acted as if corruption was the normal way of doing business. It is our responsibility to prove him wrong.”
“Identifying and investigating public corruption remains one of our highest priorities,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely. “We hope today’s sentencing reaffirms the federal government’s proactive stance to stamp out corruption by those elected officials who have betrayed the public trust.”
“Public officials, whether elected or appointed, hold positions of trust in the eyes of the public. That trust is broken when these officials commit crimes,” said Acting IRS Special Agent in Charge Jeannine Hammett. “Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that no public official gets a free pass to ignore the laws.”
Jack Johnson was Prince George’s County Executive from 2002 to December 2010. Prior to 2002, Jack Johnson was the county’s State’s Attorney, and spent nearly a decade as an attorney for the IRS Office of Chief Counsel.
In September 2009, Jack Johnson appointed James Johnson to serve as the Director of DHCD, which administered the HOME Investment Partnerships program to provide federal grants to states and localities to fund the construction, purchase and/or rehabilitation of affordable housing for rent or home-ownership. Patrick Ricker is a developer in Prince George’s County, and had an interest in Greenbelt Metropark, which sought to build a mixed-use project near the Greenbelt Metro Station, called Greenbelt Station. Mirza Baig is a physician and a commercial and residential developer in the County since at least 1992. Leslie Johnson was an elected County Councilwoman and Jack Johnson’s wife.
According to Jack Johnson’s guilty plea and court documents, from 2003 through at least November 12, 2010, Jack Johnson orchestrated a conspiracy in which Baig, Ricker and other business persons offered bribes, including money, trip expenses, meals, drinks, hotel rooms, airline tickets, rounds of golf, employment, mortgage payments, and monetary and in-kind campaign contributions to Jack and James Johnson and other state and local government officials. Baig and James Johnson pleaded
