{"id":8264,"date":"2014-12-29T14:03:00","date_gmt":"2014-12-29T22:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=8264"},"modified":"2014-12-29T15:37:20","modified_gmt":"2014-12-29T23:37:20","slug":"former-fbi-agent-pleads-guilty-bribery-involving-law-enforcement-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=8264","title":{"rendered":"Former FBI Agent Pleads Guilty to Bribery Involving Law Enforcement Records"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u00a0–\u00a0<\/strong>A former Special Agent with the FBI is facing up to 55 years in prison after he plead guilty to felony charges including bribery, conspiracy to commit fraud, and theft of government property.<\/p>\n

\"FBI<\/a>
Former FBI Agent Robert Lustyik<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Robert Lustyik, <\/strong>52,\u00a0plead guilty last week in federal court\u00a0before U.S. District Judge Vincent L. Briccetti and is schedule to be sentenced in April, officials said.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRobert Lustyik today admitted to conducting a bribery scheme in which, for his own personal gain, he secretly sold information and documents to which he had access as an FBI agent,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara<\/strong> said.<\/p>\n

Adding, “Lustyik betrayed our system of justice: he breached not only the law, but also his sworn oath, and the great trust and confidence placed in him by citizens and colleagues. For his criminal conduct he now faces, as he must, serious, commensurate penalties.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell<\/strong> said: \u201cRobert Lustyik discarded the FBI\u2019s principles of \u2018fidelity, bravery, and integrity,\u2019 and sold his badge to the highest bidder. Greed has no place in public service or law enforcement. The Department of Justice will root out corruption wherever it takes hold, and hold accountable those who abuse the public\u2019s trust for personal gain.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the evidence, here are the facts and circumstances surrounding this case:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lustyik, a former an FBI Special Agent, worked on the counterintelligence squad in the White Plains.<\/p>\n

Lustyik’s<\/strong> co-defendant, Johannes Thaler<\/strong>, was Lustyik’s friend, and Lustyik’s other co-defendant, Rizve Ahmed,<\/strong> was an acquaintance of Thaler.<\/p>\n

Around September 2011 through March 2012, Lustyik, Thaler, and Ahmed engaged in a bribery scheme.<\/p>\n

As part of the scheme, Lustyik and Thaler solicited payments of money from Ahmed, in exchange for Lustyik’s agreement to provide internal, confidential documents to which Lustyik had access by virtue of his position as an FBI Special Agent.<\/p>\n

The documents and information pertained to a prominent citizen of Bangladesh, tabbed by the FBI as \u201cIndividual 1\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ahmed perceived himself to be on the opposite side of a political rivalry with Individual 1. Ahmed sought, among other things, to obtain information about Individual 1, to locate Individual 1, and to harm Individual 1 and others associated with Individual 1.<\/p>\n

As part of the scheme, Lustyik and Thaler exchanged text messages, including messages about how to pressure Ahmed to pay them additional money in exchange for confidential information.<\/p>\n

For example, in text messages, Lustyik told Thaler, \u201cwe need to push [Ahmed] for this meeting and get that 40 gs quick . . . . I will talk us into getting the cash . . . . I will work my magic . . . . We r sooooooo close.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thaler responded, \u201cI know. It\u2019s all right there in front of us. Pretty soon we\u2019ll be having lunch in our oceanfront restaurant . . . .\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As another example, about late January 2012, Lustyik, upon learning that Ahmed was considering using a different source to obtain confidential information about Individual 1, texted Thaler, \u201cI want to kill C . . . . I hung my ass out the window n we got nothing? . . . . Tell [Ahmed], I\u2019ve got [Individual 1\u2019s] number and I\u2019m pissed. . . . I will put a wire on n get [Ahmed and his associates] to admit they want [a Bangladeshi political figure] offed n we sell it to Individual 1].\u201d<\/p>\n

Lustyik further texted Thaler, \u201cSo bottom line. I need ten gs asap. We gotta squeeze C.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lustyik, of Westchester County, plead guilty to\u00a0all five counts in the indictment in which he is charged – conspiracy to engage in a bribery scheme; \u00a0soliciting bribes by a public official; conspiracy to defraud the citizens of the United States and the FBI; theft of government property; and unauthorized disclosure of a Suspicious Activity Report.<\/p>\n

He faces a maximum sentence of 55 years in prison. Lustyik is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Briccetti on April 30.<\/p>\n

Thaler and Ahmed previously pleaded guilty to bribery and conspiracy to commit fraud.<\/p>\n

Thaler, 51, of New Fairfield, Connecticut, faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison.<\/p>\n

Ahmed, 35, of Danbury, Connecticut, faces up to 35 years in prison.<\/p>\n

Thaler and Ahmed are scheduled to be sentenced in January.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u00a0–\u00a0A former Special Agent with the FBI is facing up to 55 years in prison after he plead guilty to felony charges including bribery, conspiracy to commit fraud, and theft…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,16],"tags":[307,1722],"class_list":["post-8264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fbi","category-home-main-slider","tag-bribery","tag-fbi"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer FBI Agent Pleads Guilty to Bribery Involving Law Enforcement Records<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A former FBI agent plead guilty to bribery in connection with law enforcement records\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=8264\" 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