Md. Liquor Store Owners Held Without Bond in Corruption Case

A Howard County, Md., couple was ordered held without bond in Prince George's County in a case that led to the arrests of Prince George's County police officers.

Amrik and Ravinder Melhi own more than a dozen liquor stores. According to the indictment, the Melhis  -- as well as Amir Milijkovic, a 39-year-old auto glass store owner from Bowie, Md.; Chun "Eddy" Chen, 34, of Bowie; and Jose Moreno, 49, of Alexandria, Va.
 -- 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.

In court Tuesday, prosecutors made reference to bribes of county officials involving favorable acts for their businesses, NBC Washington's Darcy Spencer reported.

The Melhis hid millions in assets, sometimes smuggling it in and out of the country, the prosecution said. They also were accused of illegally bringing people into the country across the Mexican border, Spencer reported.

Ravinder Melhi also had stashed $400,000 in a closet in her Clarksville home, prosecutors said.

The Melhis' attorneys fought vigorously for the couple's release Tuesday with no success. Ravinder Melhi's attorney, Gabriel Christian, said the allegations had yet to be proven.

In two indictments unsealed Monday, a federal grand jury indicted a total of nine defendants, including three Prince George’s County police officers. Seven defendants, including Sgt. Richard Delabrer and Cpl. Chong Chin Kim, 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 Officer Sinisa Simic and Mirza Kujundzic, 30, of Woodbridge, Va., with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and use of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.

The charges are part of an ongoing series of public corruption investigations in the county, and more could follow, federal authorities said.

Federal prosecutors said the case is linked to the recent arrest of Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson last week, but did not elaborate. Johnson and his wife were arrested Friday on charges of tampering with witnesses and evidence and destruction and falsification of records.
 

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