Jack B. Johnson

In 1985, Johnson was recruited into politics by serving as the campaign treasurer for Alexander Williams, Jr., an old friend from law school vying for the State's Attorney office of Prince George's County.[7] Williams defeated 24-year incumbent Arthur "Bud" Marshall, thereby becoming the first black person elected to a countywide office in Prince George's. After his election, Williams hired Johnson as Deputy State's Attorney. Johnson's responsibilities in that position included day-to-day management of the office, including administration of its $5 million budget.[7]

Williams was appointed to a federal judgeship in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, opening the state's attorney seat for another politician. Soon after the news, Johnson announced his candidacy for the seat, surprising many of his colleagues who did not perceive political ambition in Johnson.[7] However, Johnson built a strong community network and won the Democratic primary election with twice as many votes as the runner-up. He handily won the general election that November.[7]

Johnson's tenure as top prosecutor in Prince George's was marked by an aggressive push against police brutality in the notoriously violent Prince George's County Police Department.[7] He fired several deputy state's attorneys for refusing to prosecute officers, and his frequent battles with the police department brought a great deal of both positive and negative attention to his office. While his allies defended his aggressive push against the police as simply pursuing justice, opponents—including the police union—questioned his intentions and accused him of political grandstanding. One circuit court judge in the county even questioned Johnson's grasp of criminal law after dismissing one of his cases.[7]

Johnson was elected county executive in 2002 and re-elected in 2006.[8] He served until his term expired on December 6, 2010.

A November 20, 2006, article in The Washington Post detailed excessive travel expenses claimed by Johnson:

Johnson flew business class to Senegal in December 2005 to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for homes built by a local developer. The cost of his travel was $6,003, charged to the county, and paid for by taxpayers. Johnson was quoted as saying, "I always fly business class or first class. I think the people of Prince George's County expect me to. I don't think they expect me to be riding in a seat with four across and I'm in the middle." Johnson again generated controversy by staying at the luxurious Bellagio Hotel and The Wynn when traveling to Las Vegas for recent shopping center conventions, two of the most expensive hotels in the city.[9]

In 2010, the Office of the Maryland State Prosecutor began investigating whether Johnson and four other Prince George's County council members had solicited bribes and favors while deliberating on a one-million-dollar annual lease for a county agency.[10]

On November 12, 2010, Jack Johnson and his wife Leslie were arrested by the FBI as part of the federal probe of political corruption in Prince George's County. They were charged with witness tampering and destruction of evidence.[2] According to court documents filed by the FBI, Johnson is accused of taking kickbacks and bribes in exchange for helping a developer secure federal funding for housing developments. Johnson can be heard on a wiretap instructing Leslie to locate and flush a $100,000 check from the developer down a toilet at their home and to hide $79,600 in cash in her bra as FBI agents knocked at the door of their home with a search warrant.[11] The Johnsons were charged with crimes that carried a sentence of up to 20 years in jail for each offense, but they were both released with Jack Johnson being placed on home detention with electronic monitoring.[12] Johnson remained in office until December 6, when his term expired; Leslie was sworn in as a newly elected county council member on the same day; however, she was not eligible to remain in the office if she were convicted of a felony.[13][14]

On February 14, 2011, Johnson was indicted for allegedly soliciting more than $200,000 in bribes as part of a conspiracy that dates back to 2003. While Johnson is the only person named in the indictment, two unnamed developers were named co-conspirators in the indictment. The indictment reports that the FBI recorded conversations between Johnson, a developer and the county director of housing where cash bribes were solicited.[15]

On May 17, 2011, Johnson agreed to a plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to extortion and witness- and evidence-tampering.[3] Following Johnson's hearing, federal prosecutors revealed that former county housing director James Johnson (no relation) and developers Mirza Hussein Ali Baig and Patrick Ricker had pleaded guilty as part of a larger corruption probe.[3] Leslie Johnson had been scheduled to plead guilty on May 3, but the hearing was abruptly canceled.[16] Leslie Johnson pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges on June 30, 2011.[17]

On December 6, 2011, Johnson was sentenced to seven years and three months in Butner federal prison in North Carolina. He was also fined $100,000.[18]

Johnson continued serving his sentence after a move to the Cumberland Federal Correctional Institution, with prisoner number 52777-037.[4] On December 15, 2016, Johnson was released to a federal halfway house near Baltimore to serve the remainder of his sentence.[5] He was released from federal custody in June 2017 after serving more than five years, which included a reduction for good behavior.[6]