By Stephen Janis, Special to the AFRO

Another corruption scandal inside the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) came to partial resolution with the sentencing of former Baltimore top cop Darryl DeSousa to ten months in prison for failure to file taxes.

The sentence was handed down by Judge Catherine Blake, who fell just within the recommendations of federal prosecutors who a sought a one-year sentence for the former commissioner.

Former Baltimore City Police Commissioner, Darryl DeSousa. (Courtesy Photo)

The charges initially stemmed from DeSousa’s failure to file tax returns for three consecutive years: 2013, 2014, and 2015. The former deputy commissioner and narcotics officer said the failure to file was simply a matter of not prioritizing his “personal affairs.”

But, later in a sentencing memorandum federal prosecutors outlined a much more deliberate crime.  Including a scheme they alleged was rampant inside the BPD that helped DeSousa and others to purposely create fraudulent charitable contributions, fake business expenses, and claim non-existent dependents.

“De Sousa was a police officer for nearly twenty years,” prosecutors wrote.  “For half of that time, he also cheated on both his state and federal taxes.”

“This is a serious offense.  The Defendant did not make a mistake or simply fail to act as

required by all citizens.  He deliberately took steps to defraud the State of Maryland and the federal government.”

Prior to sentencing DeSousa appeared to acknowledge that his crimes were more extensive than he initially admitted.

“I stand here before you humbled and ashamed of what I did,” The Baltimore Sun reported. “I wasn’t being honest and scrupulous about what was in those tax forms.”

DeSousa’s downfall marks yet another black eye for a department already under federal consent decree and battling record high crime.

Since DeSousa’s departure the city has struggled to find a permanent commissioner. Earlier this month former New Orleans Superintendent Michael Harrison was approved unanimously by the city council.

Still, the city’s homicide rate continued to outpace 2018’s near record rate, with 69 murders in 2019, a 23 percent increase over last year.

But DeSousa’s sentencing might not be the end of the myriad of scandals that have engulfed the BPD.

In the same memo submitted prior to DeSousa’s sentencing prosecutors hinted that other officers may have participated in a similar tax fraud scheme.

“The IRS and FBI learned in the course of their investigation in this case and in the investigation of the BPD’s Gun Trace Task Force other BPD officers engaged in similar conduct,” prosecutors wrote.

“For example, Jemell Rayam, the GTTF officer that this Court will sentence, falsely claimed deductions for charitable giving and for unreimbursed employee expenses, the same fraudulent deductions that the Defendant claimed.  That is not a coincidence.”

The new allegations of wrongdoing come as prosecutors continue to widen their investigation into the Gun Trace Task Force.

The Gun Trace Task Force was a group of now eight officers who dealt drugs, robbed residents, and stole overtime pay.

Earlier this month a federal grand jury indicted former Baltimore Police Sergeant Keith Allen Gladstone, age 51, on charges of denying the civil rights of a Baltimore man who was wrongfully charged.  The indictment alleged Gladstone planted a BB gun on the suspect after a member of the GTTF identified only as WJ intentionally struck him with a police vehicle.

Gladstone’s attorney confirmed that WJ was Wayne Jenkins, the ringleader of the GTTF who is now serving a 25-year sentence in federal prison.

The charges allege Jenkins panicked after he intentionally ran over a suspect with his police vehicle. Jenkins called Gladstone who is alleged to have driven to the scene and placed a BB gun near the injured suspect who was incapacitated.  The victim was charged with possession of a handgun, but the case was eventually dropped by prosecutors