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.
A federal judge denied leniency for Johnson based on his medical conditions — he claimed he had Parkinsonism, alcoholism, an anxiety disorder, depression and a speech disorder — but reduced his sentence range to 87 to 108 months based on cooperation. A federal Bureau of Prisons official had confirmed in a letter that BOP “has the ability to manage Mr. Johnson’s medical problems.”
Additionally, they submitted photos the FBI took of Johnson playing golf that they say showed he “continues to lead a very active life.” The photos were taken in July. “As relevealed in the attached surveillance photographs, the Defendant not only played golf but was fully able to carry his own visibly heavy golf bag,” prosecutors said in a court filing. “The Defendant’s description of his current health condition is plainly contradicted by this evidence of an active lifestyle.”
Prosecutors recommended he get 87 months (over seven years), spend three years on supervised release and pay a $150,000 fine. The defense team had argued that such a sentence would be inappropriate and argued for house arrest so he could receive medical attention.
Johnson addressed the court at the end of his sentencing hearing. “In my wildest dream, I could not imagine being in a place like this,” he said. “I’ve lost everything. My reputation, all the things I’ve worked for,” he continued.
Prosecutors recently “>released this undercover FBI video which showed Johnson accepting bribes and discussing how prosecutors “always want to try to — especially minorities — they try to put them in jail. If one of the prosecutors is able to bring somebody like me down, they brag their whole career ‘Oh I prosecuted Jack Johnson,’ so you have all those things, you have to be careful.” Watch:
Johnson’s wife Leslie Johnson is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday.
