By Leila Merrill
WASHINGTON — Two District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department workers were arrested Thursday on conspiracy and bribery charges.
Louis “Joey” Mitchell, 50, and Charity Keys, 43, both of Maryland, have been accused of accepting payments from a contractor in exchange for directing purchase agreements and orders to the contractor and then falsely certifying that goods FEMS had paid for had been delivered.
A Department of Justice news release states that: “according to court documents, Mitchell, a FEMS warehouse supply technician, and Keys, a FEMS contract administrator, 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 provide various goods to FEMS and other District of Columbia agencies. In exchange, Mitchell and Keys allegedly directed purchase agreements and purchase orders to the company and confirmed delivery of and payment for goods that the company did not deliver.”