A DeKalb County police lieutenant was arraigned Monday on allegations that he accepted bribes.
The lieutenant, Willie Daren Durrett, 45, of Atlanta, quit his job with the DeKalb County Police Department last week in the midst of the federal investigation.
Durrett is accused of accepting three bribes in 2007 and 2008 when he was a sergeant and then a lieutenant, said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. She did not say what the bribes were for, but did say he accepted the bribes from Amin Budhwani, who pleaded guilty in June to paying bribes to DeKalb County Deputy Police Chief Donald E. Frank.
Frank was indicted March 1 along with Durrett. The two former DeKalb officers are co-defendants.
Yates said Durrett resigned from the DeKalb police force the day before his indictment. DeKalb police initially said Durrett resigned weeks before that, but later confirmed he resigned Feb. 28.
"It is reprehensible that this former lieutenant chose to violate the law instead of upholding it," DeKalb Police Chief William O'Brien said. "It is acts such as this that undermine law enforcement's efforts to maintain public trust."
Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.00.
The FBI investigated the alleged bribery, and Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI office in Atlanta, urged people to contact his agency with any information about police or government corruption.
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