A former Baton Rouge police officer and a former city prosecutor pleaded guilty today to federal charges in what investigators call a wider bribery scheme, with court officials taking cash payoffs in exchange for dismissal of traffic tickets and misdemeanor charges. Former prosecutor Flitcher Bell and Darrell Johnson, a 23-year veteran of the city police, admitted to a federal judge they took bribes in exchange for getting misdemeanor charges dismissed in Baton Rouge City Court. The two pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and agreed to cooperate in the ongoing FBI investigation. Johnson’s bribery spree began in 1990 and continued through this year, according to court documents.
Another former city police officer, Leonard Jackson, also is facing bribery conspiracy charges. Jackson is cooperating with investigators and is expected to plead guilty Wednesday, says Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Admundson. Bell, 43, pleaded guilty to two counts and faces up to 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. Johnson, 48, pleaded guilty to one count and faces up to five years and a $250,000 fine. Court documents refer to a ringleader of the bribery scheme, identified as “E.J.,” who “marketed himself on the street as able to fix criminal charges in both” city court and the state district court in Baton Rouge. U.S. Attorney David Dugas declined to say if more charges were coming.
