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Before a press confrence Tuesday afternoon, Two Indianapolis City Leaders were indicted and sent to jail following an FBI investigation that indicted two city officials and three others in a bribery scheme.

106.7 WTLC sister station, AM1310 The Light, carried LIVE Breaking News coverage of that press conference as it happened with News and Analysis from Amos Brown, Cameron Ridle and Abdul-Hakim Shabazz.

 

The Who – City Workers.

According to the indictment Reggie Walton, 29, the Assistant Administrator of the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development , and oversaw the operation of the Indianapolis Land Bank in assitance John Hawkins, 27, who is the Senior Project Manager for the DMD.

 

The What – Accused Crime.

Walton and Hawkins are accused of accepting bribes and “kick-backs” to facilitate fraudulent property sales to non-profit entities that would then sell the property to for-profit businesses.  Walton and Hawkins would receive kickback payments from the non-profit organizations. They now face multiple charges of wire fraud and bribery.

 

The Who – Accomplises.

David Johnson, 47, Executive Director of the Indianapolis Minority AIDS Coalition is accused of having used his non-profit business to participate in this scheme. Randall K. Sargent, 57, President of New Day Residential Development, another registered non-profit corporation, is also charged with that same crime.

Both men are alleged to have engaged in wire fraud as part of the kickback scheme, and Sargent faces an additional count of bribery for allegedly providing money to Walton in order to influence and reward his illegal activity.

 

The Who – The Inside Connection.

Aaron Reed, 35, is charged with wire fraud and bribery for his role in the scheme.  Reed is the registered agent for the Naptown Housing Group. It is alleged that Reed would solicit for-profit investors

Reed would obtain profits, which he would share with Walton through payments and kickbacks.

 

The Mayor’s Statement

“I take these allegations very seriously and I will not tolerate abuse of the public trust.  That’s why I initiated the toughest ethics and first whistleblower laws in the history of the city.

Mr. Walton and Mr. Hawkins are suspended without pay effective immediately.

I appreciate the work of federal officials in this matter and my team will continue to assist them in this investigation.  The alleged acts of these two individuals do not reflect the dedication of the thousands of employees who work hard to improve our city every day.” (Released 3:12pm Tuesday)

 

Stay with 106.7 WTLC for the latest updates on this developing story with Cameron Ridle and the WTLC Morning News on The TJMS starting at 6am and TLCNaptown.com