Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Former Interior Department Official Charged With Taking Bribes

Edgar A. Johnson, 59, of Bowie, Maryland, was charged Monday with accepting bribes in exchange for arranging meetings between businesses and government officials in the US Virgin Islands. Johnson was part of the Interior Department's Office of Insular Affairs, most recently serving as director of the Technical Assistance Division, which provides financing to the US Territories and to companies seeking development there. Specifically, Johnson was charged with one count of "honest services wire fraud" in connection with his alleged acceptance of a $10,000 bribe to arrange a meeting of unnamed insurance executives and USVI government officials in August 2007. Johnson, who has held government positions for 30 years, faces 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

Read the story here.

We note that this is the second recent case involving public corruption in the US Virgin Islands. Read our earlier post here. It is unclear if the two cases are connected.

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