CBP Officer Convicted in Meth for Bribes Scheme
On June 12, a federal jury convicted a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer of crimes related to a meth for bribes scheme, according to a U.S. Attorney, Southern District of California press release.
Leonard Darnell George, a former CBP officer, accepted bribes to let vehicles carrying meth and fentanyl cross into the U.S. at its border with Mexico.
“With this verdict, the jury sent a clear message to anyone considering trading in their badge for cash,” said U.S. Attorney Tara K. McGrath in the press release. “Abandoning the integrity of the uniform for the conspiracy of drug trafficking is a path to a criminal conviction.”
Charging by the Vehicle
George ran the scam by communicating with smugglers about which lane he was working so he could wave their cars through without being searched, prosecutors say.
George charged up to $17,000 per drug-smuggling car, said the U.S. Attorney’s office. He even let drug traffickers wear his CBP uniform jacket while posing for photos, photos which prosecutors subsequently showed jurors in his trial.
Spending Money on Strippers
What did George do with all his ill-gotten gains?
Some of it he spent at the Hong Kong Gentlemen’s Club in Tijuana, according to witness testimony. Witnesses said George spent around $5,000 in cash during each trip, some of which he would literally shower strippers with from a second-story balcony.
Joint Federal Investigation
“It is the responsibility of all government employees to operate with the utmost integrity and do their best to foster and maintain the public’s trust,” said FBI San Diego Field Office Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy in an earlier press release. “Anyone who violates that trust will be held accountable for their actions.”
The FBI led the investigation in concert with Homeland Security, CBP, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
George faces sentencing on September 13.
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