Son of former Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown targeted by FBI sting, pleads guilty to bribery

Son of former Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown targeted by FBI sting, pleads guilty to bribery

By Your Black World

From the outside looking in, Michael A. Brown, 48, seemed poised for political success. His father was Ron Brown, former Secretary of Commerce under the Clinton administration, and he himself was a well known D.C. lobbyist and politician. But after Brown lost his reelection bid to the D.C. Council, reports began circulating of Brown’s tax liens and mortgage troubles.  It became clear that he was having financial trouble.

Things reportedly became so bad that Brown took $55,000 in cash from a company that he thought was seeking business opportunities with the city and federal government. In reality, the company was a cover for an FBI sting that had targeted Brown. On Friday prosecutors charged Brown with bribery, alleging that he agreed to accept money in exchange for securing government contracts for the company in question.

Brown’s lawyer confirmed that Brown plans to plead guilty to the charges.

“He has accepted full responsibility for his mistakes, cooperated with the authorities and intends to plead guilty,” said Brown’s attorney, who also admitted that Brown had  “made a serious lapse in judgment at a time when he faced severe financial difficulties.”

Brown grew up in affluent areas of D.C., but received several foreclosure notices on his home in 2009. During that period, Brown was earning $365,000 combined from his jobs on the D.C. Council and his lobbying position.

In case you’re keeping count of the number of black politicians who have been prosecuted by the Feds as of late, check here, here, here, and here.