Indianapolis Official Gets 3 Years For Bribery, Extortion
By Evan Weinberger
Law360, New York (December 02, 2011, 11:51 AM ET) — A former Indianapolis city councilman convicted of bribery and attempted extortion for soliciting cash and campaign contributions in return for a strip club zoning permit was hit Thursday with a 40-month prison sentence.
The sentence, delivered by U.S. District Judge Larry J. McKinney, was just more than half of the 78-month sentence that federal prosecutors had sought for Lincoln Plowman, 48.
But the U.S. Department of Justice applauded the sentence.
“Plowman used his elected office for personal financial gain, betraying the trust placed in him by…
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Photo: Dan Goldblatt/WFIU
U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett says other public officials should learn from Plowman’s conviction.
A former Indianapolis police officer and city-county council member was sentenced to more than three years in prison Thursday for committing bribery and attempted extortion. Lincoln Plowman, 48, was previously convicted by a jury for accepting more than $5,000 in cash from an undercover FBI agent posing as a strip club developer at the Conrad hotel in downtown Indianapolis. The deal was videotaped and shown during his trial in September. Plowman‘s attorney, Jim Voyles, says his client regrets his actions.
“I think he was speaking from the heart when he had to indicate that it going to be a terrible burden on his family for this situation,” Voyles says.
The sentence handed down by U.S. district court judge Larry McKinney falls well short of the maximum allowable jail term of 30 years in prison. Federal prosecutors had requested a 6 1/2 year sentence. Still, U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett says he is putting other public officials on notice.
See the full article from “Indiana Public Media”
According to evidence presented at trial, Plowman solicited an undercover FBI agent to pay $5,000 in cash and to make a $1,000 campaign contribution for Plowman’s benefit. In exchange for the payments, Plowman offered official actions and influence to facilitate the opening of a strip club in Indianapolis. At the time of the crimes, Plowman was a member of the metropolitan development committee of the city-county council. He was also a major with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
Evidence at trial also showed that Plowman had previously accepted bribes from an existing strip club that was part of a national chain ; in exchange , he provided official acts and influence against legislation to ban smoking at clubs in Indianapolis. The evidence showed that the chain feared that legislation would become a model for other jurisdictions.
See the full article from “7thSpace Interactive (press release)”
After completing his sentence, Plowman will have three years of supervised release.
Plowman’s attorney, Jim Voyles, asked for an 18-month sentence, and the government sought 78 months.
The judge said Plowman abused the powers of his council position and job with Indianapolis police.
Before the sentence was announced, Plowman sobbed for mercy for him and his family.
“I can accept the consequences of my actions. I can clearly see the errors of my judgments. My actions have cost me and my family,” he said. “I can never repair all the damage I have done. I have let down everyone I know. I’ve lost the respect of my friends and family.”
Plowman was arrested in 2010 after a federal investigation found that he sought $5,000 for himself and $1,000 for his campaign in exchange for helping put an upscale strip club downtown.
See the full article from “WRTV Indianapolis”
December 1, 2011 (INDIANAPOLIS) –
A federal judge is scheduled to sentence a former Indianapolis City-County Council member who was convicted of taking a $5,000 bribe from an undercover FBI agent seeking help opening a strip club.
See the full article from “ABC7Chicago.com”
INDIANAPOLIS — A federal judge has sentenced a former Indianapolis City-County Council member to 40 months in prison for attempted extortion and bribery.
U.S. District Judge Larry McKinney ordered Lincoln Plowman, a former Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department major, to begin serving the sentence after Jan.1 at a federal prison in Terre Haute.
A jury in September convicted Plowman for allegedly taking a $5,000 bribe from an undercover FBI agent seeking help opening a strip club.
Plowman’s attorney argued that had a legitimate side business as a consultant to local strip clubs.
Plowman was indicted last year about six months after he resigned from the council and took early retirement from the police department.
Information from: Indianapolis Business Journal, http://www.ibj.com
See the full article from “The Republic”
The airport is run by the city of Anderson, but Coon will not be considered a city employee. He will instead be contracted.
The Anderson Herald-Bulletin reports Coon has 25 years experience managing airports.
The paper says Coon and two others were convicted of using more than $5,000 in airport money on a trip to a Dallas strip club. Coon says he has learned his lesson and is ready to move forward.
Coon will oversee a $700,000 budget and four employees.
Source: Anderson Herald-Bulletin
See the full article from “Inside INdiana Business (press release)”
updated
1 hour 43 minutes ago
2011-11-02T17:15:35
INDIANAPOLIS — Two Indianapolis mothers are under arrest for leaving their young children alone while they went to work at a strip club.
Police were called to an apartment on West Lake Drive just before 2:00 am when a neighbor found a 3-year-old girl wandering alone outside wearing a ballerina outfit with no coat or shoes. It was 39 degrees at the time.
The girl led police back to her apartment where they found another 3-year-old girl and an 11-month-old boy.
Police learned the girl’s mother, Shaneque Dotson, along with the mother of the other three-year-old and the 11-month-old, Tracey Carter, were working at a nearby strip club.
When the women returned to the apartment, they first told officers that Dotson’s sister was supposed to watch the children. But after questioning they admitted they left the children alone.
See the full article from “msnbc.com”
Strip club workers arrested for leaving kids alone
Updated:
INDIANAPOLIS – Two Indianapolis mothers are under arrest for leaving their young children alone while they went to work at a strip club.
Police were called to an apartment on West Lake Drive just before 2:00 am when a neighbor found a three-year-old girl wandering alone outside wearing a ballerina outfit with no coat or shoes. It was 39 degrees at the time.
The girl led police back to her apartment where they found another three-year-old girl and an 11-month-old boy.
Police learned the girl’s mother, Shaneque Dotson, along with the mother of the other three-year-old and the 11-month-old, Tracey Carter, were working at a nearby strip club.
When the women returned to the apartment, they first told officers that Dotson’s sister was supposed to watch the children. But after questioning they admitted they left the children alone.
See the full article from “WTHR”
The bad news, Franklin soon realized, is that you had no idea who you’d be fighting. This hit home as he was sitting in the audience watching the night’s first few fights and talking with Schall, who he recognized from the previous event he’d attended.
“We introduced ourselves and Kerry said, ‘Oh, you’re the guy I was supposed to fight tonight, but I had to pull out because I’m sick,’” Franklin recalls. “I was like, really? They were going to put me against this big guy? He was at least 50 pounds heavier than me.”
But before he had too much of a chance to dwell on the implications of this revelation, the announcer called his name and summoned him to the cage. As Schall would delight in telling people years later, after he and Franklin had become good friends, when Franklin heard his own name he simply stood up, pulled off his tearaway warm-up pants like a male stripper, and strolled into the cage, ready to fight.
See the full article from “MMAFighting.com”