Bail bondsman and 2 magistrates plead guilty to bribery charges

Bail bondsman law is pretty clear in Virginia:

B. A licensed bail bondsman shall not:

5. Give or receive, directly or indirectly, any gift of any kind to any nonelected public official or any employee of a governmental agency involved with the administration of justice, including but not limited to law-enforcement personnel, magistrates, judges, and jail employees, as well as attorneys. De minimis gifts, not to exceed $50 per year per recipient, are acceptable, provided the purpose of the gift is not to directly solicit business, or would otherwise be a violation of Board regulations or the laws of the Commonwealth.

— See § 9.1-185.8. Professional conduct standards; grounds for disciplinary actions.

And, of course, this seems to be a clear case of violation of the statutes that cover bail bondsmen in most state.  Simply put, if you are a bail bondsman, you cannot pay anyone in the legal or justice system to refer business to you without breaking the law.

Unfortunately, as in all industries, there are always a few corrupt participants. The bondsman’s name was Ulysses Stephenson Jr. He plead guilty last year to bribery and conspiracy and was subsequently sentenced to 2½ years in prison.

Below are key excepts from the article published by the By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, October 8, 6:01 PM . . .

Former Virginia officer pleads guilty to accepting $5,000 in bribes from bondsman

NORFOLK, Va. — A former Portsmouth Sheriff’s Office sergeant has pleaded guilty to accepting more than $5,000 in bribes from a bondsman in a case that also brought down two judges.

…faces up to 15 years in prison when he’s sentenced Jan. 16. Court documents show Hike accepted cash payments from the bondsman from 2008 through 2012 in exchange for referrals. …He was sentenced to 2½ years in prison.

The same FBI investigation that ensnared … also led to charges against two Portsmouth magistrates. Both have pleaded guilty.

Last year, former Magistrate Deborah Clark, 52, … sentenced to one year in prison. Former Chief Magistrate Loretta Reese, 54, … received a six-month suspended sentence.

Info from: The Virginian-Pilot, http://pilotonline.com

Read the rest of the article at The Washington Post