The owners of Decker’s Liquors in Bel Air were charged by federal authorities Monday in connection with a cigarette and alcohol case which has swept across the state.
Amrik S. Melhi, 51, and his wife Ravinder K. Melhi, 49, both of Clarksville, Md. were among nine individuals charged with a bevy of offenses in a scheme involving the transport and distribution of untaxes cigarettes and alcohol, according to the Justice Department. Among those charged are three Prince George’s County police officers.
The grand jury indictments, dated Oct. 14, were unsealed today following the arrests of the defendants and the execution of search warrants, Justice officials said in a statement. Local sources said federal agencts converged on Decker’s Liquors Monday, apparently in connection with the search warrants.
The official statement from the Justice Department is below:
THREE PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY POLICE OFFICERS AND SIX OTHER DEFENDANTS CHARGED IN TWO FEDERAL INDICTMENTS
Charges Include Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Firearms Violations;
Forfeiture Sought for $3.5 Million, 25 Properties, 13 Vehicles and 84 Bank AccountsGreenbelt, Maryland – In two indictments unsealed today, a federal grand jury has indicted a total of nine defendants, including three Prince George’s County Police officers. Seven defendants, including two of the officers, are charged in the first indictment with conspiring to commit extortion under color of official right in a scheme involving the transport and distribution of untaxed cigarettes and alcohol. The second indictment charges the third officer and another man with a drug and gun conspiracy. The indictments were returned on October 14, 2010 and unsealed following the arrests of the defendants and execution of search warrants today, in a coordinated operation that involved approximately 150 law enforcement officers.
The indictments were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Sparkman of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.
“Police officers are given badges and guns to prevent crimes, but these police officers allegedly used them to commit crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “The indictment charges that they crossed a bright line from catching criminals to conspiring with criminals.”
Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation stated, “This investigation demonstrates that no one is above the law. The FBI, along with our law enforcement partners, is committed to seeking out all forms of corruption, especially among those that serve the public.”
“Public officials must comply with the same laws as the citizens they serve,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Sparkman, Washington, D.C. Field Office. “The IRS-Criminal Investigation is helping to ensure that all Americans, including public officials, are held to the same standard.”
First Indictment: Conspiracy to Commit Extortion
The first indictment charges seven defendants with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion under color of official right:
Prince George’s County Police Sergeant Richard Delabrer,
age 45, of Laurel, Maryland;
Prince George’s Police Corporal Chong Chin Kim,
age 42, of Beltsville, Maryland;
Amrik Singh Melhi, age 51, of Clarksville, Maryland,
owner of numerous Maryland liquor stores;
Ravinder Kaur Melhi, age 49, of Clarkesville,
co-owner of liquor stores and wife of Amrik Singh Melhi;
Amir Milijkovic, age 39, of Bowie, Maryland,
owner of an auto glass store in College Park, Maryland;
Chun Chen, aka Eddy Chen, age 34, of Bowie; and
Jose Moreno, age 49, of Alexandria, Virginia.Specifically, the indictment charges that the defendants agreed that Amrik Singh Melhi and others would pay police officers in exchange for them using their official authority to ensure the safe transport and distribution of untaxed cigarettes and alcohol in Maryland and Virginia.
The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of $3.5 million, 25 properties, 13 vehicles and 84 bank accounts that allegedly are proceeds of crimes or were used to facilitate crimes.
The defendants in the extortion conspiracy case face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The defendants are expected to have their initial appearances in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt today beginning at 1:30 p.m. and continuing through the afternoon.
Second Indictment: Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine
In the second indictment, two defendants are charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and use of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking:
Prince George’s County Police Officer Sinisa Simic, age 25, of Woodbridge, Virginia; and
Mirza Kujundzic, age 30, of Woodbridge, Virginia.Simic and Kujundzic face a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison for the drug conspiracy charge and a mandatory five years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, for possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The defendants are expected to have their initial appearances in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt today beginning at 1:30 p.m. and continuing through the afternoon.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI and IRS for their work in these investigations. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys James A. Crowell IV, A. David Copperthite and Sujit Raman, who are prosecuting the cases.
Mr. Rosenstein, Mr. McFeely and Ms. Sparkman expressed their appreciation to Prince George’s County Chief of Police Roberto L. Hylton for the assistance that he and his department provided.
Wow…our sleepy little County is moving up to the big time!
I went by Deckers yesterday and there was a SUV parked across the entrance and I thought that was very strange, but kinda makes sense now.
I bet the original “Deckers” are wishing they hadn’t sold their good name…
Wasn’t the Decker’s “good name” sullied a bunch of years ago with a certain alleged indescretion??
By whom? I don’t recall, but that doesn’t mean it never happened…do tell…
Yep, the alleged groping incident of female custodian by Mark Decker that ended with him acquitted of a sex charge (according to the judge, conflicting testimony left the court in a quandary) but convicted of battery. I don’t know if he appealed the verdict.
Wow…guess I missed that!
yes it was, Mark Decker got a little too friendly with a young woman…she filed charges, he got the same little hand slapped.
Why are you bringing Mark Decker into this blog? Isn’t this article about crooks and bad cops? However, since you brought his name up, I will attempt to set the story straight. Mr. Decker was falsely accused of something by a gold digging janitor who had 5 kids and no baby daddy and was looking for her free ticket away from the bucket and mop. At the time, the County Council met in the basement of the courthouse. Mr. Decker arrived one evening for a meeting and Ms. Moneygrubber was there boo hoo hooing to everyone about how awful her life was. Mr. Decker, being a polite man, began talking to her and she advised him that she was going to school to try to get her nursing degree. She then showed him a badge that was pinned to her uniform pocket. Anyone who has ever been in the lower level of the Circuit Courthouse knows that it is dark down there–there are no windows and there are many shadows due to poor lighting. Mr. Decker, not being able to clearly see due to the insufficient illumination, reached for the badge and tilted it to an angle to see it better. Lo and behold, we have a purported sexual attack. I did not know Mr. Decker at the time, but I knew who he was. I worked in the courthouse and was present the evening in question and I was close enough to the act to see that there was nothing whatsoever sexual about it and I stated as much in my deposition. Most everyone, including the Sheriff’s Department investigators, was fooled by this poor down-on-her-luck cleaning woman with 5 kids (and a nice county job) and Mr. Decker was thrown under the bus. Mr. Decker spent thousands of dollars on attorney’s fees defending himself because someone tried to cash in on her gravy train. I got to know Mr. Decker because of this and he is a kind and decent man, a good father to his kids, a good husband to his wife, a good son to his parents and a good friend to his acquaintances. He has done many positive things for the Town of Bel Air and Harford County. He was acquitted of any sexual charges, so if you’re going to throw somone’s name around, at least know WTH you are talking about.
“so if you’re going to throw someone’s name around, at least know WTH you are talking about.”
Uh, I did two posts up and I do.
O’Malley was reelected…that’s an even worse crime. By the way, police don’t prevent crime, rather, they investigate crime.
Spoken like a true Cop Smidlap!!
Well it would seem that cops commit a lot of crimes these day’s as well. They sure don’t have a stand up guy reputation as they once did. What a shame for the cops who are really doing the right thing. Most cops now days are Thugs hiding behind badges.. I wonder how that happens, don’t they go thru some sort of back ground check before being hired? No Police don’t prevent crime at all they are involved in it LOL…
They do go through background checks, but then after they are hired the cops have a front line seat at seeing how easy it is to get away with crime. Look at the two officers who were charged, one a Sergeant and the other a Corporal. These two officers were not recently hired. They have learned their criminal trade while on the job! We have the same situation right here in Harford County, involving a Sheriffs Office Deputy, Major Mark Forwood, who was running a theft scheme on his office computer right under the nose of Sheriff Bane. One only wonders who else in the Sheriffs Office is committing crimes right under the Sheriff’s nose.
@ LTR “Most cops now days are Thugs hiding behind badges..” Are you for real?? What an insulting, ignorant thing to say! You damn well know that’s not true!! If you are indeed a “long time resident” then you are certainly more knowledgeable than that! Please back up your ludicrous statement! WOW!
Well, most police officers are stand up guys and wouldn’t dream of doing something this stupid. Unfortunately, just like in every other profession, there are a few bad apples who give everyone else a bad name.
Personally, I think that in most cases if an officer commits a crime (especially something like this where it’s obviously well planned out and has been ongoing) and is found guilty then he should be getting hit with the max penalties, not plea bargaining down to some bs lesser charge and getting probation. We have a public trust and duty to investigate crimes and protect our communities, not to become criminals ourselves.
@ Henry- I agree somewhat with what you say. My problem with LTR was one word—“”MOST.” What I don’t agree with is a criminal cop not being able to plea bargain. ALL criminals are normally afforded a plea bargain. If not the justice system would grind to a halt more than it has. You must agree to that. A criminal is a criminal. It shouldn’t matter what he wore to work when he committed the crime, right?
talk about stupid..we go from investigate crime to an allegation of sex charges to Sheriff Bane. Wow… really! first Cops preserve and protect second Decker just touched the alleged victims shoulder patch EMS, not janitor and as far as Foxwood get over it and grow up bane won? really this chatter sounds like a coffee group dying for news.. read the story!
I did read the story. It has to do with three Cops being charged with a crime. My comment has to do with Cops committing crimes. Why do you bring up Bane winning an election? This is about Cops committing crime – Cops like Forwood!!
what a disgrace. law enforcement mostly are there to protect but in this case it seems like they are criminals jjust like the Decker’s owners. I never liked that place. They always charged more for their beverages.Glad I never bought there and made them richer.
DID YOU READ WHERE THE COMMENTER STATED UNDER bANE’S NOSE, THAT IS THE SAME COMMENT POSTED DURING THE ELECTION~ AS IF IT WERE bane’s FAULT? GET OVER IT!
Sorry Louie. I just can’t get over the fact that Major Forwood of the Harford County Sheriffs Office, ran a theft scheme right under the nose of Sheriff Bane. I would like to think that Major Forwood’s actions also bothers and extremely disappoints Sheriff Bane!! Yes Sheriff Bane won reelection – so what? Forwood still did what he did – right under the nose of Sheriff Bane. The issue here is Cops commit crime, and some do it right under the Boss’ nose!!!
Does anyone out there know the exact number of employees of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office that make over $100,000 a year?
Don’t know how to do a link to the site so I’ll have to talk through it. Go to the Sheriff’s Office website, http://www.harfordsheriff.org. In the lefthand column, click on Employment, then salaries, then Classifications, then LE payscale. You can see the potential is there for many many employees, sworn and civilian, have the potential to make over $100K per year, especially when counting overtime. Then there are (were) step increases and COLA’s on top of that. Unless you know how long someone has been at the agency, you will have to estimate how long they have been there, but most sergeants and above have been there at least 10 years and many much much longer.
Not very many. A few can and do through working a lot of OT (most of which is either on reimbursement security details at businesses and/or apartment complexes or is grant funded, neither of which comes out of the budget.)
The higher your rank the fewer OT opportunities there are. Once you get into the command staff ranks (some of whom do make close to or over $100k as their salary) they don’t get OT.
Henry,
I don’t know what you mean when you say very few Deputies make over 100K, but a quick look at the law enforcement pay scale on the HCSO web site would show a different picture. It would appear that any Sgt with 13 years service and collecting the 5 or 7 percent additional pay for shift differential would be over 100K with very little overtime. Any Lieutenant with 10 years service would be at 100K with the 5 or 7 percent shift differential and little overtime. Grades above Lieutenant would certainly be at 100K, or over, considering the amount of time in service it would take to achieve those grades. If you add all of the Deputies that fall into these positions it would be a significant number.
I would take issue with your statement that Command Staff does not get overtime. If Command Staff is not compensated with money (the Sheriff sometimes authorizes money) then they are provided Compensatory Leave at the overtime rate and get additional time off from work. That is time the citizens are paying for whether it is in real dollars or time away from the job.
If we are to know the real number of persons in the Sheriffs Office who are paid over 100K then the Dagger could request that information and publish a list of names. The Baltimore Sun has done this regarding Officers in the Baltimore Police Department, by providing a link in their on line version of the paper to the city payroll records. The names and actual monetary compensation was a real eye opener!! This is public information in Baltimore and should be here in Harford County. The list for Baltimore included all personnel, and broke the information out by officer grade, basic compensation and overtime compensation, for a total of all money paid per individual. Might be a nice story for the Dagger to publish the names and compensation of Deputies to show how fairly or unfairly we treat personnel in the HCSO.
By the way, all (or most) of those Deputies who are in the 100K and above category also have agency take home vehicles which use taxpayer funded gas. Unless the policy has recently changed, the Deputy is permitted to use the vehicle to go to the store, movies, out to eat, etc.. In addition, there are several Deputies who live in Cecil County who take their vehicle home.
Inside Stuff–Henry is a Bane Backer so of course he is going to deny what is right in front of everyone’s eyes. As stated previously, even civilians and lower ranked officers are making, if not 6 figures, than close to it. Quite a few deputies almost double their salaries on OT. Yes, Dagger, print some names and figures so we can see what’s really going on and who is making the big dollars–those in the Ivory Tower, no doubt.
David Roadhouse,
Although I suggested that the Dagger look into publishing this information or at least providing a link to the information as the Baltimore Sun did, I do not really expect them to do so. The issue would probably be considered to sensitive. I do think the public would be very surprised at how many personnel of the HCSO are making over 100K per year.
The number increments running along the top of the pay scale do not represent years of service. They represent the steps. As a Deputy advanced through his career, they drop down a step and take a step backwards. It is possible for a Cpl. to be a step 6, get promoted to Sgt. and drop to a 5, if that makes sense to you.
I understand, it is a merit based system, not a years of service plan. In my opinion there will still be many individuals at or over 100K annual compensation (not including benefits) when overtime and shift differential is added to basic salary. It is certainly nothing to be ashamed of. Have the names and annual total compensation published. Let the public know how poorly the men and women of the HCSO are paid.
Inside: The Dagger is “cutting edge” so hopefully they’ll be able to check this out. Even if they are able to get income figures, this only tells half the story because the OT won’t be reported. I think everyone would really be shocked at how many civilians are making much more money than the deputies.
Why would OT not be reported? If the OT is paid it would have to be reported. I am not suggesting that only the salary for each be posted, but what was actually paid, to include OT and Shift Differential. This is what the Balt Sun did for all agencies in the city, and the information for the Police Dept., included basic salary and also the OT. It was an real eye opener!! One Officer who was just a patrol officer (not even a corporal) made at least $152,000. One of the city Bus Drivers made over $140,000.
OMG . . . I thought Deckers was owned by Deckers. Yet another business sold to foreigners.
They may be Americans, you can’t tell where they were born by simply their name.
It’s disappointing that 3 cops were involved, or that anyone was for that matter, in these crimes. I’m glad they were all caught and will face the punishment for their respective crimes. I’m especially glad they were caught before Christmas–they don’t deserve to enjoy the holiday season after all their thieving while honest people are out there trying to figure out how they’re going to afford to celebrate the holiday and/or get a job. It’s good to see our criminal justice system at work, and that this system doesn’t fail to punish the enforcers when needed, but sad to see the need just the same.
They are from India. Punjab. . . would also like to point out that they are just partial owners. The other owner, who also works the register a few nights a week, works for the county during the day.
The other owner is also the RAVEN MANIAC on Sundays