Former Senior Department of Interior Official Pleads Guilty to Bribe Scheme

WASHINGTON—Edgar Amos Johnson, a former senior official of the U.S. Department of Interior, pleaded guilty this morning to honest services wire fraud based on a $10,000 bribe he accepted in return for contacting senior government officials in the U.S. Virgin Islands on behalf of individuals seeking insurance business there, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeffrey A. Taylor, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office Joseph Persichini, Jr., and Inspector General Earl E. Devaney of the U.S. Department of Interior jointly announced today.

Johnson, 60, of Bowie, Maryland, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before the Honorable James Robertson. The maximum sentence for honest services wire fraud is 20 years of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gain. Under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Johnson faces a likely prison sentence of between 12 to 18 months. Johnson is scheduled to appear in Court for further proceedings in this matter on April 10, 2009.

According to the factual proffer presented by the government in Court today, Johnson was the Director of the Technical Assistance Division in the Interior Department's Office of Insular Affairs. That office provides funding to governments, institutions, and private firms in U.S. territories, including the U.S. Virgin Islands. In his senior position, Johnson had regular, ongoing contact with senior officials in the U.S. Virgin Islands, who trusted Johnson's judgment and recommendations. In August 2007, Johnson accepted $10,000 in return for agreeing to contact senior officials in the U.S. Virgin Islands on behalf of individuals seeking insurance business from the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands. After accepting the bribe, Johnson emailed a senior official in the U.S. Virgin Islands recommending individuals for insurance business.

In announcing today's guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Taylor, Assistant Director in Charge Persichini, and Inspector General Devaney commended FBI Special Agents Jason Watson, Ron Miller, Thomas W. Raftery III, and James Breen; Office of Inspector General Special Agent Harry Humbert, the Deputy Director of the Program Integrity Division, and Special Agent Michael Coccaro; and Paralegal Specialist Diane Hayes and Legal Assistant April Peeler. Finally, they commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy G. Lynch, who is prosecuting the case.