Former Nolensville Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Honest Services Mail Fraud
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 30, 2013 |
Kenneth D. Lee, 52, of Nashville, Tennessee, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court, to honest services mail fraud, announced David Rivera, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Lee was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 1, 2012, and charged with extortion and mail fraud arising from his solicitation of payment from a woman who did not have a driver’s license in exchange for not arresting her.
“This case is about much more than a $200 fraud. It's about dishonest dealings by a police officer sworn to uphold the law and to serve and protect the public,” said David Rivera, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. The public should not allow the crimes of this single police officer to tarnish or otherwise undermine their confidence in the vast majority of law enforcement officers who serve with integrity and keep our communities safe. Those few public servants who choose to abandon their oath should be reminded that the United States Attorney's Office will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.
Lee, a former Nolensville police officer, admitted during the plea hearing that on August 17, 2011, that he told a woman who did not have a driver’s license that he would not arrest her if she paid him $200. Lee also acknowledged that the woman mailed him three separate money orders, totaling $200.
“Our community expects and deserves law enforcement that protects and serves and does not use public service as a shortcut to self-enrichment,” said A. Todd McCall, Special Agent in Charge of the Memphis Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “The FBI and our partners will continue to work to uphold this expectation and today’s plea represents the culmination of hard work to end a corruption and abuse of power that tarnished the thousands of honest, hard-working law enforcement officers, who serve with integrity, and risk their lives every day to keep us safe.”
After accepting Lee’s plea, Chief U.S. District Judge William J. Haynes scheduled a sentencing hearing for October 18, 2013. Under the plea agreement, Lee could be sentenced to up to a year and a day in prison.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the United States Postal Inspection Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Scarlett Singleton and Jimmie Lynn Ramsaur.