The former mayor of Upland in San Bernardino County has pleaded guilty to bribery charges this past Thursday. John Pomierski reportedly admitted to accepting $5,000 in exchange for helping a local business get the proper permits to open its doors. Pomierski, who is just one of three people to be convicted in a bribery scheme so far, is facing up to 10 years in prison. After resigning from his position as mayor, Pomierski was indicted on multiple federal criminal counts last year that could have added up to 145 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Pomierski is said to have demanded as much as $70,000 in bribes since 2007 from both a sports bar and a medical marijuana dispensary in return for helping them get the proper permits. Pomierski, who had recently declared bankruptcy, reportedly sent a text message through an intermediary demanding his money in 2009. The intermediary, Jason Ray Crebs, collected $5,000 on behalf of Pomierski and is now facing up to ten years in a federal prison after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting bribery. John Edward Hennes, a member of Upland's city appeals board, has also pleaded guilty to criminal charges for his role in the scheme, which involved communicating Pomierski's demands to the business owners. Pomierski is scheduled to be sentenced on August 6th.

Public corruption is not taken lightly at all in this country, so you can expect federal investigators to have compiled masses of evidence against you even before you appear in court to anwser to your charges. Your lawyer must have the patience, dedication and skill to carefully comb through all that information and be able to come up with a solid defense for you.

Categorised in: Federal Crimes