(Newswire.net — October 23, 2016) — Jurors unanimously agreed on Friday that Superior Court Judge Arnold O Jones II was guilty of paying a bribe to an FBI agent.
When Jones asked his friend to spy on his wife and her new friend, he offered him two cases of Bud Lite beer as a reward. The jurors, however, unanimously agreed that the innocent favor among two friends is a classic case of corruption and bribery.
In the nearly year long trial, the jurors also found the judge guilty for corruptly attempting to influence an official proceeding.
In October 2015, Jones asked an FBI Task Force Officer, who he considered a friend, to provide copies of text messages exchanged between his wife and her friend. Jones said that the copies are only for him and for family members involved.
“I want down low – see what you can do without drawing attention,” he wrote to the agent, when he said that he “lacked probable cause” to get the messages himself.
The FBI agent agreed to provide the copies even though he can only access such information with a warrant from a federal magistrate based on suspicion of criminal activity. The agent said that if the judge really wanted them he would try to get the messages.
The judge promised that no one would ever find out about them and that the officer could trust him “one million percent.”
Two weeks after their first conversation, Judge Jones offered him a reward, which the public officer tried to avoid. “No, no, no, you’ve had to take time and I’m glad to do something,” Jones said, according to his redacted indictment, now released on PACER. “Do you follow me?” he said.
Eventually, the FBI agent agreed on 2 cases of Bud Light beer as a reward for the job completed. However, the agent set up a sting operation and recorded the moment he handed Jones the disc and receive the envelope, the US Department of Justice said in a press release.
After the exchange, an FBI team stormed into the judge’s home and arrested him on charges of corruption.
Jones’ defense claimed in court that the FBI agent had to warn the judge that what he was asking may result in the situation that it did.
