George's County officials allegedly bribed by U.S. Indian

By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 25 November 2010, 09:27 IST
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Mississippi: FBI wiretaps revealed that the owners of a Maryland liquor store who were hooked up in a big corruption plot paid bribes to Prince George's County officials and hid $400,000 in cash in their closet, reports Desi Talk. FBI wiretaps captured conversations between Amrik S. Melhi and public officials about bribes Melhi paid in exchange for official acts, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Copperthite said during a detention hearing for Melhi. Copperthite and another federal prosecutor said in separate court hearings that Melhi, 51, and his wife, Ravinder K. Melhi, 49, also talked to each other about paying off county officials. However, the prosecutors did not specify who allegedly received the bribes or what the officials did in exchange for the payoffs. But the disclosures in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt show the broadening scope of the federal corruption investigation in Prince George's. They also shed light on how the arrests of the Melhis, who own Tick Tock Liquors and Restaurant, and seven others, including three county police officers, fit into the larger probe. During Amrik Melhi's detention hearing, Copperthite said federal agents were investigating the protection scheme, using wiretaps, when they learned about the bribes. The Tick Tock, located in a freaky neighborhood, has been the center of controversy in recent years. According to campaign finance records, Amrik Melhi has donated to the campaigns of several Prince George's politicians, including Johnson. During the detention hearings, Copperthite and Assistant U.S. Attorney James A. Crowell said that the Melhis, who are charged with conspiracy, should remain detained until their trials because they are flight risks.