A plea deal could come as soon as Friday for the D.C. businessman believed to be behind an illegal shadow campaign for Mayor Vincent Gray in 2010, sources told News4's Tom Sherwood.
A lawyer directly involved in the case confirmed to News4 that plea negotiations between Jeffrey Thompson's lawyers and prosecutors are in the "final stages" and that a plea is expected to be filed Friday, but News4 was cautioned that it is still possible the talks could be delayed or break down, though any breakdown is unlikely at this stage.
Federal prosecutors have been building a case against Thompson for about three years. He has been identified by others caught up in the scandal as the mastermind of a $650,000 off-the-books campaign on Gray's behalf.
"I actually don't know anything about that. I guess we could speculate about it but I really don't know anything," Gray said Thursday evening.
Thompson could be key to implicating Gray or clearing him. Gray has maintained he did nothing wrong.
The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment to News4’s Mark Segraves Thursday afternoon.
Gray is running for reelection, and the Democratic primary is April 1. An NBC4 poll released last week shows Gray leading the race.
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