As a juror, you never know what opportunities will come your way. It might be the chance to throw Joe Biden's primary election challenger in jail (#Democracy), or it might be the chance to channel your inner Soprano with a nice bag of cash.
This is what happened to one juror in Minneapolis, who was dismissed this week after reporting that a woman dropped off $120,000 in cash at her home, with more on the way if she did one thing: vote to acquit seven people — all Somali immigrants — charged with stealing tens of millions of dollars from a COVID-19 program to feed needy children.
What a bargain!
The first bag of cash was delivered straight to the juror's home — how's that for quality customer service? The juror's father-in-law was then informed that a second bag of cash would be on its way if a not-guilty verdict was found. Both reported the attempted bribe immediately.
Here's how the Sahan Journal reported the incident:
According to the affidavit from FBI Special Agent Travis Wilmer, a Black woman, 'possibly Somali, with an accent, wearing a long black dress' approached the juror's home around 8:50 p.m. Sunday. The juror's relative, whom Thompson identified in court as her father-in-law, answered the door.
The woman gave him a white gift bag, according to Wilmer's affidavit, and said it was a present for the juror, using the juror's first name. Thompson and the affidavit identified the juror as juror 52. Her name has not been publicly disclosed. It's unclear how the woman learned the juror's name.
'The woman told the relative to tell Juror #52 to say not guilty tomorrow and there would be more of that present tomorrow,' the affidavit reads. 'After the woman left, the relative looked in the gift bag and saw it contained a substantial amount of cash.'
"This is completely beyond the pale," Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson responded. "This is outrageous behavior. This is stuff that happens in mob movies."
Honestly, the mob are a little more subtle …
This alleged scam reportedly cost taxpayers $250 million, and involves a total of 70 defendants. Here are a few of the names on the list:
According to prosecutors, a tiny proportion of the funding went to feed low-income children during the pandemic, while the rest was spent on other crucial necessities like luxury cars, jewelry, vacations, and real estate.
They might have gotten away with it if they called Black Lives Matter!
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