by: Mila Mimica
News4 has learned U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen will file criminal bribery charges against former District Councilman Michael Brown Friday morning.
Sources told News4 reporter Tom Sherwood Brown accepted a personal loan from two undercover FBI agents. In exchange, the agents asked Brown for help in lobbying a D.C. minority business contract.
The incident occurred approximately one-and-a-half years ago, while Brown was a sitting council member. At the time, he was having financial issues in connection with a strained marriage, sources told Sherwood.
Friday morning, Machen will file a “criminal information” document against Brown in Federal court. The specifics of the amount of money Brown received remain unknown.
Sources say Brown will plead guilty next week once a judge is assigned to the case.
Brown lost his seat on the council last November, and abruptly pulled out of another council election in April.
He is the son of former U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, a major figure in the National Democratic Party until he died in a European plane crash on a commerce mission in 1996.
Former D.C. Councilman Kwame Brown and Ward 5 member Harry Thomas Jr. both resigned from office after pleading guilty to unrelated felony counts. A federal investigation of Mayor Vincent Gray’s 2010 campaign is ongoing.
This article was written by Mila Mimica and originally published on nbcwashington
