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Press Release

Former Maryland State Delegate And County Councilman Sentenced To More Than Four Years In Prison For Participation In Bribery Scheme

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maryland

                                                                   

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          Contact ELIZABETH MORSE

www.justice.gov/usao/md                                                     at (410) 209-4885

 

Greenbelt, Maryland – United States District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced William Alberto Campos-Escobar (a/k/a “Will Campos”), age 43, of Hyattsville, Maryland, to 54 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy and bribery in relation to a scheme to use County funds to obtain bribe payments.  In addition, Judge Xinis ordered Campos to pay $340,000 in restitution.

In a related matter, Judge Xinis sentenced Young Jung Paig, age 63, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, to 41 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.  Judge Xinis also ordered Paig to forfeit $265,000.

The sentences were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Thomas Jankowski of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office; and Chief Henry Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

Campos held the elected position of Prince George’s County Councilman, representing District 2, from November 2004 through approximately November 2014.  As an elected County Councilman, Campos was authorized to act on behalf of, and serve as the representative to, the County government.  In November 2014, Campos was elected as a  Delegate to the Maryland General Assembly, representing District 47B.

Paig was the resident agent of Weeping Willow, Inc. and the owner of Central Avenue Restaurant & Liquor Store, located in Seat Pleasant, Maryland.

As described in his plea agreement and other court records, then-County Councilman Campos accepted bribes from business owners and others, often but not always facilitated by David Dae Sok Son, a Commissioner on the Prince George’s County Board of License Commissioners.

For example, during a meeting on April 4, 2014, Son informed an FBI Confidential Human Source (“CHS”) that Campos needed $10,000 to pay an expense related to Campos’s campaign for Maryland State Delegate.  Son told the CHS that Son had spoken with Campos about the CHS giving cash to Campos in exchange for Campos arranging for another County grant to be awarded to a non-profit organization selected by the CHS.

On or about April 9, 2014, Son told the CHS that Son had told Campos to “hook [the CHS] up” with the developer of a new business in the County, so that the developer would retain the CHS’s business services.  Son explained to the CHS that the business owed Campos, because Campos had obtained a tax benefit for the business.  Son and the CHS then walked to the coffee shop’s parking lot, where the CHS’s vehicle was located.  The CHS then retrieved $3,000 in U.S. currency from the CHS’s vehicle.  The same day, Son gave Campos the $3,000 in U.S. currency that Son had received from the CHS.  And later that day, Campos sent a text message to the CHS that stated, “I owe you big time my man.”

In a related matter, Paig made repeated bribe payments to Campos and Maryland State Delegate Michael Vaughn, in relation to a successful attempt to pass legislation permitting certain liquor stores in Prince George’s County to sell alcohol on Sundays.  These bribe payments from Paig also were facilitated by Son.  Other convicted individuals in this related matter include Shin Ja Lee, a liquor store owner, and Matthew Gorman, an attorney and lobbyist. 

Delegate Vaughn was convicted of bribery and conspiracy at a trial that concluded in March 2018, and is pending sentencing.  Son, Lee, and Gorman have all pleaded guilty and also are pending sentencing.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, IRS-CI, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas P. Windom and James A. Crowell IV, who prosecuted Campos and Paig.

Updated May 18, 2018