Defendant
Admits Making False Statements to the FBI in Criminal Investigation
WASHINGTON—Howard L. Brooks, a member of
the finance and treasury teams of a 2010 mayoral candidate in the District of
Columbia, pled guilty today to making a false statement to the FBI about his
activities during the campaign, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen, Jr.
and James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington
Field Office.
Brooks, 64, of Silver Spring, Maryland,
pled guilty before the Honorable Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in the U.S. District
Court for the District of Columbia. No sentencing date was set. The charge
carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison as well as a potential fine.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, the parties have agreed that the
applicable range would be a maximum of six months of incarceration and a fine
of up to $5,000.
The plea comes two days after another
campaign official, Thomas W. Gore, 56, pled guilty to a felony count of
obstruction of justice and three misdemeanor charges of making of a campaign
contribution in the name of another. Brooks and Gore remain free pending
sentencing.
The guilty pleas involve illegal conduct
by Brooks and Gore during and after the 2010 mayoral campaign. Brooks and Gore
worked for one of the candidates challenging incumbent Mayor Adrian M. Fenty.
In court documents, that candidate is identified as “Candidate A.” Gore was the
assistant treasurer of the campaign and was a member of its treasury team.
According to the government’s evidence,
Brooks and Gore helped carry out a plan to divert funds from their candidate’s
campaign to that of another challenger to Mr. Fenty, identified as “Candidate
B.” The express purpose of these payments was to keep Candidate B running in
the mayoral race. During the race, Candidate B verbally attacked Mr. Fenty
during candidate debates and other forums.
“Today’s guilty plea further reveals the
underhanded dealings that tainted the integrity of the 2010 mayoral campaign,”
said U.S. Attorney Machen. “Mr. Brooks acknowledged using fraudulent money
orders to not only secretly divert funds to an opposing candidate but also in
order to make unlawful contributions to his own candidate’s campaign that he in
fact did not pay for with his own funds. He then made false statements about
his misconduct to the FBI during the government’s subsequent investigation.
Although Mr. Brooks’s conduct was egregious, he deserves some credit for owning
up to his mistakes and eventually telling the truth. We urge others to do the
same as we continue our efforts to get to the bottom of what happened during
the 2010 election.”
“Today, Mr. Brooks admitted that he lied
to the government about his actions,” said Assistant Director in Charge
McJunkin. “Such false information steers an investigation off course and drains
time, money, and resources that could be better utilized in the interests of
our citizens.”
According to a statement of offense
signed by Brooks as well as the government, beginning in or around late June
2010, Brooks met with Gore and another member of the campaign for Candidate A.
Brooks was instructed to make payments to Candidate B. Gore provided blank money
orders on which Brooks and other campaign workers filled in the names and
addresses of real persons who had not contributed these funds as those making
the payments.
The completed money orders were returned
to Gore, who put some of them in an envelope and gave them to Brooks to deliver
to Candidate B.
The statement of offense provides
details about 10 money orders, signed and blank, that Brooks delivered to
Candidate B between July 2, 2010 and August 4, 2010. The money orders had a
total value of $2,810.
In addition, the statement of offense
provides details about eight fraudulent money orders that were deposited and
used by the campaign of Candidate A. Brooks obtained these money orders,
totaling $4,000, from Gore. Brooks signed his own name on four of the money
orders and a friend’s name on the other four money orders, even though neither
Brooks nor his friend had contributed any funds toward their purchase. The campaign
of Candidate A later reported these contributions to the District of Columbia
Office of Campaign Finance as if they were legitimate campaign contributions
from Brooks and his friend.
The false statement charge stems from
Brooks’s actions after allegations involving the mayoral election came to
light.
On March 6, 2011, allegations by
Candidate B about the campaign of Candidate A appeared in The Washington Post.
In these reports, Candidate B alleged that, during the 2010 campaign, he had
been promised a job in a future Candidate A administration. In addition,
Candidate B said that he received payments from Brooks and another member of
the campaign for Candidate A in return for staying in the mayoral race and
continuing to attack Mr. Fenty.
On March 9, 2011, the U.S. Attorney’s
Office for the District of Columbia issued a public statement that the U.S.
Attorney’s Office and the FBI were assessing the allegations made by Candidate
B.
Brooks met with the FBI and others on
April 6, 2011 in a voluntary interview at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Among
other things, Brooks stated that he never gave Candidate B or the campaign of
Candidate B any cash, money orders, or other type of payments.
These false statements were material, as
they were capable of influencing the course of the FBI’s investigation of
alleged payments to the campaign of Candidate B from the campaign of Candidate
A.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney
Machen and Assistant Director McJunkin commended the work of those who
investigated the case for the FBI.
They also expressed appreciation to
Criminal Investigators Matthew Kutz, Mark Crawford, and Melissa Matthews;
Paralegal Specialists Tasha Harris, Shanna Hays, Sylvester Brown, and Diane
Hayes, and former Legal Assistant Jared Forney, all of the U.S. Attorney’s
Office.
Finally, they acknowledged the work of
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ellen Chubin Epstein and Mary Chris Dobbie, who
investigated and prosecuted this matter.
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