A DeKalb County lieutenant
who swore to protect the public used his badge to intimate business owners out
of money.
And prosecutors said he did it with the help of the department’s
deputy chief.
On Friday, Mr. Willie Daren Durett was convicted of federal bribery
and conspiracy charges, according to the U.S.
Attorney’s Office.
“A police officer’s badge carries with it a responsibility to
protect and serve the public with the highest degree of loyalty and honesty,”
U.S. Attorney Mrs. Sally Quillian Yates said.
“This officer violated that trust by using his badge to intimidate
the public he should have been protecting for his own personal gain.”
Prosecutors said he did it from September 2008 through August 2009.
Mr. Durrett, who was then a DeKalb County police
lieutenant, conspired with Mr. Donald E. Frank, who was then deputy chief of
police to accept money from an area businessman in exchange for influence and
official actions as officers, Mrs. Yates said.
That businessman was Mr. Amin Budhwani, 48, of Atlanta, Mrs. Yates
said.
The jury convicted Mr. Durrett of participating in this conspiracy,
and on two counts of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes from Mr. Budhwani
between 2007 and 2008, Mrs. Yates said.
Mr. Budhwani initially approached Mr. Durrett in 2007 to help him
intimidate a small business owner with whom Mr. Budhwani had a dispute,
according to court records.
“Durrett made threatening phone calls to this man while identifying
himself as a DeKalb County police officer, which resulted in the business owner
paying Budhwani over $10,000 to settle the dispute,” the records show.
Later in 2008, the lieutenant helped Mr. Budhwani with a matter
involving a business partner with whom Budhwani had a disagreement.
“ Budhwani paid Durrett thousands of dollars in cash for using his
position as a DeKalb County Police Officer to assist Budhwani with these
matters,” the records show.
Mr. Durrett resigned from the police department in 2011. He was
indicted by a federal grand jury on March 1, 2011, Mrs. Yates said.
His co-defendant Mr. Frank, 48, pleaded guilty on April 1, 2011, to
conspiracy to take bribes. Mr. Budhwani pleaded guilty in 2010 to paying bribes
to Mr. Frank.
Then they both testified against Mr. Durrett during his federal
trial.
Mr. Durrett faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to
$250,000 for conspiracy. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to
$250,000.00 for each bribery charge.
He will be sentenced on Sept. 27.
“Every law enforcement officer, having sworn an oath to uphold the
law, quickly becomes schooled in the temptations of the job and the boundaries
which they dare not cross,” FBI
Special Agent in Charge Mr. Brian D. Lamkin said Friday.
“Today’s guilty verdict brings to a close one man’s law enforcement
career because he gave in to those temptations and crossed those boundaries.”