Filed under: News, Politics, Race and Civil Rights
It wasn't a good morning at the home of Prince George's Country Executive Jack B. Johnson (pictured, center) and his wife, Leslie, the newly elected county council member.
FBI agents, with search warrants, were banging at the front door, and with $79,000 of ill-gotten cash to be hidden, the Jacksons allegedly cooked up a plan they thought would fool investigators:
Put the money in Leslie's bra!
But while her cups were running over with cash in their hair-brained scheme, the Johnsons were digging themselves a space under a jail cell, where they will likely end up spending some time as soon as the trial is over.
The couple faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
In addition to taking the $79,600 from her bra, authorities have recordings of the phone conversations between the Johnsons at the time of the morning raid, which concluded a five-year federal corruption investigation of Johnson who served as the county's top lawmaker for the past 8 years.
Johnson told his wife to destroy a check believed to be from developers in exchange for business and personal favors:
"Tear it up! That is the only thing you have to do," Jack told his wife, according to an affidavit.
Leslie replied, "Do you want me to put it down the toilet?" Jack said, "Yes. Flush that." (The sound of a flushing toilet could be heard by agents in the background.)
I understand we are all innocent until proven guilty in court, but let's be honest, the Johnsons are toast.
Johnson has denied any wrongdoing, but the only questions to be answered is if Leslie Johnson will testify against her husband to get a reduced sentence. Another question is how far has the corruption spread to other officials in the sprawling Washington, D.C., suburb.
Maybe the corruption scandal will help Prince George's County officials clean up their act and help the county live up to its potential as the wealthiest county in the nation with a black-majority population.
Prince George's County (and don't call it "PG" anymore unless you want to catch an earful from angry residents) is a community of contrasts.
Yes, multi-million homes line the streets of many Prince George's communities; but, Prince George is also home to the worst schools in the state outside of Baltimore. Not to mention that dealing with public officials and the business community there is...well, let's just say it makes dealing with folks in Washington, D.C., a walk in the park by comparison.
Let's hope that after the Johnson's and their cronies are swept off to jail, the people will elect a less corrupt brand of leadership.