A8
Politics & The Nation
FBI intends to search more homes and offices, authorities say
BY CHERYLW. THOMPSON AND HENRI E. CAUVIN
The arrests Friday of Prince
George’s County Executive Jack B. Johnson and his wife suggest that a federal investigation of corruption in county govern- ment, long a subject of rumor and speculation, is reaching critical mass. Law enforcement officials fa-
miliar with the probe, which is being overseen by the U.S. attor- ney for Maryland, said more ar- rests are expected, possibly this week. Johnson (D), whose term ends
next month, and his wife, Leslie Johnson (D), newly elected to the Prince George’s County Council, were charged with destroying
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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2010 Johnsons’ arrests appear to be tip of federal corruption probe
and tampering with evidence. They were arrested after Jack
Johnson pocketed $15,000 in cash from a developer Friday, the FBI said in an affidavit, and his wife, at home, stuffed $79,600 in cash in her underwear and flushed a $100,000 check down a toilet as federal agents knocked on her door. Speaking on the condition of
anonymity because the investiga- tion is continuing, authorities said the FBI intends to conduct moresearches ofhomesandoffic- es, seeking evidence of graft relat- ed to developer contracts. On Friday, agents carried out search- es at the Johnsons’ home and the County Administration Building. A spokesman for County Exec- utive-elect Rushern L. Baker III, who has pledged ethics reform, issued a statement Saturday say- ing the arrests would not inter- fere with his new administra- tion’s efforts to focusonresidents’ needs and to clean up county business practices. Baker has
promised to establish an inspec- tor general’s office to root out waste, fraud and abuse and to move to end the practice in which people can contribute to slates of candidates in addition to individ- uals.Developers have been signif- icant campaign contributors. Exactly where the investiga-
tion is focused remains unclear. Rumblings of wrongdoing in the county have been persistent for years, although until now, John- son had not been officially impli- cated in any impropriety. This is not the first develop-
ment-related investigation to emerge in the county. The FBI spent many months
examining details of ahuge devel- opment project in Greenbelt and its ties to a formerCounty Council member and two of his golfing buddies. In 2008, agents involved in the inquiry obtained search warrants for several homes and offices, including the offices of two of Johnson’s top aides. Another target of an FBI
search during the investigation, developer Patrick Ricker, had held a $500-a-head fundraiser for Johnson in 2002. Ricker was in- volved in the Greenbelt develop- ment, which had Johnson’s strong backing. In 2006, The Washington Post
reported that 15 friends and polit- ical allies of Johnson’s had re- ceived 51 county contracts worth nearly $3.3 million. Some were paid to advise the
county on matters in which they had little experience, and some failed to produce required re- ports about their work. Johnson said the contractors were “first- class people.” In February, a developer sued
Johnson and several other county officials, claiming breach of con- tractandintentional interference with business relations. The de- veloper said he was asked to make a payoff in exchange for a lease on a county building. The civil case led Maryland’s state prosecutor to open an investiga-
tion into allegations that elected officials and political operatives tried to extort money from the developer. TheMaryland state prosecutor
also investigated two county con- tracts awarded in 2005 to the chairman of Johnson’s campaign committee, according to sources familiar with the probe and two people who appeared before a grand jury. Prosecutors questioned the
grand jury witnesses about the contracts, each for $100,000, awarded in 2003 and 2004 to Wilbert R. Wilson, owner of a Largo technology firmanda long- time friend of Johnson’s, the sources and witness said. The contracts called for Wilson
to “evaluate trends in regional, national and global economics” and to “identify market trends and strategies for improvement of economic benefit to county- based businesses.” He was re- quired to “furnish a final written report” of his work to the county
government. County officials could produce
no memos, reports or other pa- perwork generated by Wilson, who was chairman of Johnson’s “Vision for 2006” campaign com- mittee. One of the grand jury witness-
es was Carolyn Scriber, former director of the county’s Office of Central Services, which reviews contracts and purchasing and handles the management of county buildings and vehicles. She said she testified that Wil- son’s 2003 contract was put through without her knowledge or review. Had she been asked, she said,
she would not have signed off on it.
“There was no measurement,
no work product,” she said in an interviewat the time.
thompsonc@washpost.com cauvinh@washpost.com
Staff writers Paul Duggan and Chris Hopkins contributed to this report.
Pr. George’s has history of development highs, lows johnson from A1
certainly don’t hear that about other jurisdictions” in the area, said JoelD. Rozner, a lobbyist and former county zoning counsel, re- ferring to the county seat. Samuel J. Parker, chairman of
the county Planning Board, said control of development has be- come a source of power. “Andthat can lead to corruption,” he said. “It has.” Officials in the Greenbelt office
of U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein, who brought the charges against the Johnsons, said Friday in court that there is more to come. “The case is likely to expand,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney James A. Crowell.
A history of scandal As early as the 1960s, Prince
George’s was one of the nation’s fastest growing counties. Its pop- ulation doubled that decade, and county officials rezoned land so thousands of garden apartments could be built to accommodate the suburban boom. Federal prosecutors and tax of-
ficials soon began investigating cozy relationships between Prince George’s officials and de- velopers. Jesse S. Baggett, chair- man of what was then the Board of County Commissioners, was convicted of accepting favors and gifts, including $3,500 he used to buy a tractor, from a developer seeking his support for rezoning applications. The zoning scandals of the era promptedhundredsofnewdevel- opment laws and procedures de- signed to halt abuses and sprawl, to little avail. The 1980s brought Anthony
Cicoria to the County Council.He voted on several projects by a developer with whom he was a partner. Cicoria was convicted of stealing $65,000 in campaign contributions and lying on his state income tax returns, and he lost his bid for reelection to a write-in candidate. In 1992, after a series of federal
corruption investigations, the Maryland General Assembly passed a law barring Prince George’s officials from accepting campaign contributions from de- velopers that had pending busi- ness with the county. The lawwas challenged by campaign commit- tees for then-County Executive ParrisN. Glendening, and a court overturned it on a technicality. The law was rewritten, but
“If it is true, we know that God is a just God, and if we confess our sins, we know thatHewill
forgive us.” —Christine Thomas, resident of Mitchellville
“The term ‘pay to play’ is so prevalent, until it’s real. If a lot of people get investigated deep enough, they will be in trouble, whether it’s taxes or you forgot to pay
something.” —Wendall Galloway,
master barber at Largo One Barber Shop in Upper Marlboro
PHOTOS BY MARK GAIL/THE WASHINGTON POST
county officials have used a loop- hole to get around it, forming slates thatcanacceptmoneyfrom developers. Two years ago, the FBI raided
the offices of a county developer and twoof Johnson’s senior aides, as well as the homes of a former council member and a high-rank- ing official with the county fire department. According to a source with knowledge of the investigation at the time, the probe centered on a proposed 240-acre project near the Greenbelt Metro station and the Capital Beltway.
Waiting for upscale In the 1990s, County Executive
Wayne K. Curry (D), Johnson’s predecessor, said that the county had become the dumping ground for cheap housing, and he ush- ered in a new plan for develop- ment.Hedemandedthat builders create upscale homes like those foundinMontgomeryandFairfax counties. Curry threatened to deny routine water and sewer
connections for about a half-doz- en residential communities that were at odds with his vision of “executive-style” housing. Dozens of new developments
began to blossom in the central and southern regions of the coun- ty. Meanwhile, the county strug- gled to attract high-end retailers, despite its distinction as the country’s wealthiest majority- black jurisdiction. Seven years ago,whenthe Bou-
levard at the Capital Centre opened its doors, residents thought they were embarking on a new era in retail. While the main-street-style mall did not of- fer the high-end stores that many in the fancy neighborhoods near- by wanted, it at least had some mid-range stores. But by last year, many of the
anchor stores were closed. Crime, including five homicides, were reported.Most of the other retail- ers that remain sellT-shirts, jeans and cellphones, catering to a young clientele. Still, residents continued to
hold out hope for the county’s renaissance. The opening in 2008 of National Harbor, the water- front development along the Po- tomac, helped set the stage. The development, which has
swanky shops and condos, is home to one of the largest hotel/ convention centers on the East Coast. Disney Resorts plans to build a hotel there, and the Na- tional Children’s Museum plans to relocate to the development.
Johnson proud of tenure Johnson has reveled in the
completion of Wegmans and Na- tional Harbor, which he calls the county’s crown jewel. “I am convinced as I travel the
county that people are pleased withmy performance, and I leave at a time when they are feeling good about themselves and Prince George’s County,” Johnson said, sitting ramrodstraight in his desk chair as he outlined his suc- cesses. The 75-minute conversation took place in his UpperMarlboro
office on Oct. 28. Fifteen days later, Johnson and his wife were arrested and led away in hand- cuffs. Jack Johnsonis beingmoni- tored with an electronic bracelet; Leslie Johnson was released on her own recognizance. County residents were stunned
by the news of the Johnsons’ ar- rests. “Iamsaddenedandverysick. It
is very demoralizing,” said Gene- vaMays, a retired federal worker and organizer of the Prince George’s County chapter of Jack and Jill of America. She is a mem- ber of the District’s Shiloh Baptist Church, which Johnson also at- tends. “It is important for our children to have role models. It has always been about that. We have worked too hard and come too far to have this kind of thing happen.” Ken Ford, a Boy Scout leader
helping his troop collect canned goods at a Capitol Heights shop- ping center Saturday, said he found the news of the arrests troubling but believed the county
would move on. “My personal feeling is that life
doesgoonandonepersondoesn’t stop a show,” he said. During Johnson’s farewell in-
terview with The Post, there was no hint of anxiety or worry about what was coming, even though rumors about a federal probe had swirled around Johnson’s admin- istration for several years. “We are just very, very pleased
with what we have accom- plished,” said Johnson, 61, who previously served eight years as thecounty’stopcriminalprosecu- tor.Hesummoneda staffer to pull up a “brag board” showing hun- dreds of organizations he said the county had helped. “We wanted a clean, beautiful
county . . . by any standards that you look at, we are making tre- mendous progress,” he said. He portrayed himself as work-
ing around the clock in the $175,000-a-year job, taking early morning calls from public safety officials after a recent townhouse fire in Suitland that killed a 27- year-old man and trying to ferret out police corruption. He spoke proudly of his five-
year effort to secure a AAA bond rating for the county, enabling the government to borrow money at lower rates, despite critics who said he sacrificed dedicated coun- ty staff and cut services to satisfy Wall Street. Johnson has clashed repeated-
ly with the County Council and reporters, and he told an audi- ence of200at theWegmansopen- ing last month that those who questioned his spending on busi- ness trips did not understand the benefit to the county. “The idea is that I was in a
frolic,” he said, referring to his trip to a Las Vegas retail conven- tion at which he met with the developerwhobuilttheWegmans shopping center. “They never talk about the hard floors at the con- vention that Iwalkedfrom8:30 in themorningto 7 at night,”hesaid, as the crowd applauded.
spivackm@washpost.com
wigginsovetta@washpost.com morelloc@washpost.com
Staff researcher Eddy Palanzo and staff writers Ruben Castaneda, Henri E. Cauvin, Hamil R. Harris and Avis Thomas-Lester contributed to this report.
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