Photo by Jim Davis. Leslie Johnson, with her attorney, reads a statement to the media after her trial at the federal courthouse in Greenbelt.

Published on: Wednesday, February 13, 2013

By Jim Davis

Leslie Johnson, former Prince George’s County Council member and wife of former County Executive Jack Johnson, has been released from federal prison, sources said.

Johnson served 10 months of a 366-day sentence at Alderson Federal Prison Camp, in West Virginia, for her role in a countywide corruption scandal that also involved her husband. She was released for good behavior, sources said.

Johnson was sentenced last March after pleading guilty on June 30, 2011, to conspiracy to commit witness and evidence tampering in order to obstruct a federal investigation. As a part of her plea deal, Johnson forfeited proceeds of the scheme, including $79,600.

During her trial, Johnson admitted to flushing an illicit $100,000 bribe check down the toilet as FBI agents arrived at her Mitchellville home. She also stuffed nearly $80,000 in her bra.

Jack Johnson was sentenced to serve more than seven years at Butner Federal Prison, in North Carolina, which is also where Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff is serving time. The former county executive extorted hundreds of thousands of dollars and assorted gifts in bribes from developers while in public office, according to court documents.