Jack B. Johnson, Black Prince George's County Exec Tells Wife to Hide Nearly $80K in Her Underwear

Jack B. Johnson, black Prince George's County executive, tells wife Leslie to hide money in underwear as FBI agents listen to conversation.

Jack Johnson & wife Leslie in happier times.

Many blacks would love to reach the highest levels in their careers, such as Prince George's county executive Jack B. Johnson, 61, and work their butts off doing an excellent job. But Jack Johnson and his wife, Leslie, 58, are in some serious trouble with federal authorities. According to the Washington Post, just after 10:12 a.m. Friday, Leslie Johnson frantically phoned her husband, saying FBI agents were at the door of their home in Mitchellville. What he told her to do was a disgrace and part of a cover-up. First, he reportedly told her not to answer the door. Really? That's smart, knowing they would find a way to get her out of the house. What he didn't know or too arrogant to realize was that the phone was tapped and the agents were listening to their conversation. It gets worst. See excerpt from the Washington Post below:

Johnson ordered his wife to find and destroy a $100,000 check from a real estate developer that was hidden in a box of liquor.

"Do you want me to put it down the toilet?" Leslie Johnson asked. "Yes, flush that," the county executive said. But what about the cash? she asked - $79,600. Put it in your underwear, the county executive told his wife. She replied, "I have it in my bra" - which is where agents discovered the money after she answered the door.

That conversation, as documented in an FBI affidavit, led to the arrest Friday of Jack Johnson and his wife. Each was charged with evidence tampering and destroying evidence in a case the U.S. attorney called the "tip of the iceberg" in a broader corruption investigation in Prince George's.

"I'm innocent of these charges," he said. "I just can't wait for the facts to come out. When they come out, I'm absolutely convinced I'll be vindicated."

I just love when people accused of crimes say they are innocent and the truth will come out. Er, it usually does and more often than not, they are guilty as charged. I remember former Atlanta mayor Bill Campbell uttering those same words when he was accused of a myriad of crimes. Guess what? Bill Campbell went to prison. Remember former Rep. William Jefferson (D-NOLA), who was convicted on 11 corruption charges and the infamous $90,000 stuffed in Boca Burger and Pillsbury pie boxes in the freezer of his Washington D.C. townhouse in August 2005. The money in the bra has topped the money in the freezer.

It should be noted that Jack Johnson has been the target of cronyism and corruption allegations since his election in 2002. Whether or not he is guilty of the accusations leveled against him, what he told his wife to do is a disgrace and he should have known she would be implicated in obstruction for her actions. Leslie Johnson should have also known by hiding the money she would be committing a crime. She knew this and did it anyway. I hope she has the decency to resign from the Prince George's County Council, for which she won election earlier this month. Sorry, but this is a case of "Dumb and Dumber."  Who talks about hiding evidence with the FBI at the door knowing full well the conversation could possibly being taped as they speak?