FBI Employee Sentenced for Accepting an Illegal Gratuity

A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employee was sentenced today to two years probation for accepting an illegal gratuity for the performance of his official duties, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division announced. Curtis Jones was also sentenced by Chief Judge Benson Everett Legg for the U.S. District Court in Baltimore to pay a $5,000 fine.

On June 5, 2008, Jones, 47, a resident of Annapolis, Md., pleaded guilty to a one-count indictment charging him with acceptance of an illegal gratuity. According to the indictment, Jones was responsible for negotiating, reviewing and making recommendations regarding a blanket purchase agreement valued at approximately $2 million. This agreement was for the purchase of upgraded shredders to meet new national security standards for the destruction of classified information. As an equipment program manager, Jones admitted he reviewed and approved the bid of an undisclosed company (Company A) and subsequently served as the liaison for all FBI field offices to submit their purchase requests to Company A for new shredders.

Shortly after visiting the company and approving their machines for purchase, Jones admitted he accepted an offer from Company A for him and his family to join Company A's top executives and sales people on a cruise in the Caribbean during the 2003 to 2004 New Year's holiday. The total value of the gratuity, including lodging and airfare, was approximately $7,500. Jones was a physical security specialist with the FBI at the Bureau's headquarters in Washington, D.C., at the time of his arrest.

This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Daniel Schwager and Peter Koski of the Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section, which is headed by Chief William M. Welch II. The case is being investigated by the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General.