Updated at 6:26 p.m.
A Maryland federal judge sentenced former Prince George's County Councilwoman Leslie Johnson to a year and a day in jail for trying to destroy evidence of her husband's extortion scheme.
Johnson's husband, former County Executive Jack Johnson, was sentenced on Dec. 6 to serve 87 months in jail. Both pleaded guilty to the charges against them.
Leslie Johnson, according to a Justice Department press release, was also sentenced to perform 240 hours of community service and pay a $15,000 fine. She will forfeit $79,500 in cash that FBI agents found stuffed in her bra and underwear when they arrested her and her husband on Nov. 12, 2010.
Jack Johnson was accused of accepting bribes from local developers in exchange for helping them secure federal housing dollars. On the day of the arrest, as FBI agents were knocking on the door, agents recorded Johnson on the phone with his wife discussing how to get rid of evidence.
Leslie Johnson was recorded asking Jack Johnson if she should flush a $100,000 check down the toilet; a flushing noise follows. The two then discussed how Leslie Johnson should hide the cash in her undergarments. They were arrested at the house shortly after.
Leslie Johnson has been represented by Blank Rome’s Shawn Wright. Wright said she "wasn't shocked" that U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte sentenced Johnson to serve time in jail, but had been hopeful that they could make a case for probation.
"We were hoping with all of her community service and the lack of knowledge that she had about the entire pay-to-play corruption scheme her husband was involved in, the judge would consider giving her a time of probation," Wright said.
Leslie Johnson was elected to the county council shortly before her arrested in November 2010. She was previously an administrative law judge in the District. Johnson held a J.D., but was not a practicing attorney.
“People who hold public office have a duty to serve with integrity,” U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said in a written statement. “Government officials must always keep in mind that their job is to pursue the public interest and not personal profit.”
A previous version of this post incorrectly stated the amount of time Leslie Johnson was sentenced to do community service.
Comments