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DC Fire and EMS employee pleads guilty to taking bribes

Officials at DC Fire and EMS said Mitchell was a Fire and EMS warehouse supply technician and had been with the department for 15 years.

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a DC Fire and EMS employee pleaded guilty to taking bribes from a contractor. 

The DOJ announced in February that two DC Fire and EMS employees, 50-year-old Louis “Joey” Mitchell and 43-year-old Charity Keys, had been arrested for taking payments from a D.C. contractor in exchange for directing purchase agreements and orders to the contractor. 

Officials at DC Fire and EMS said Mitchell was a Fire and EMS warehouse supply technician and had been with the department for 15 years.

According to court documents, the pair accepted bribes over the course of several years, including a bribe of $20,000 each, from the owner of a Maryland limited liability company contractually obligated to give items to FEMS and other D.C. agencies. 

The DOJ says the bribery scheme led DC Fire and EMS to pay the company more than $150,000 for goods that never were delivered. Mitchell personally received at least $61,250 in bribes from the contractor.

Mitchell pleaded guilty Thursday. He will be sentenced in September. 

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