Baltimore police chief charged with failure to file tax returns
Baltimore MD May 11 2018Â Baltimore Police Commissioner Darryl De Sousa has been charged with failing to file three years of federal tax returns.
De Sousa, 53, was charged by way of federal criminal information with three misdemeanor counts of failure to file a U.S. Individual Tax Return, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday afternoon. The charges allege De Sousa failed to file a federal return for tax years 2013, 2014 and 2015.
He is facing a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $25,000 fine for each of the three counts, according to the attorney’s office.
In a statement posted on Twitter, De Sousa said he failed to file both state and federal taxes during those years. But he said he paid his 2016 taxes and has received an extension on his 2017 taxes.
“I have been working to satisfy the filing requirements and, to that end, have been working with a registered tax advisor. To be clear, I have paid federal, state and local taxes regularly through the salary withholding process,” he wrote. “While there is no excuse for my failure to fulfill my obligations as a citizen and public official, my only explanation is that I failed to sufficiently prioritize my personal affairs.”
De Sousa went on to say that he accepted full responsibility for “this mistake” and is committed to resolving the situation.
“Naturally, this is a source of embarrassment for me and I deeply regret any embarrassment it has caused the Police Department and the city of Baltimore,” he wrote.
Court documents filed in U.S. District Court show De Sousa made $93,104 in 2013, $101,985 in 2014 and $127,089 in 2015. He was a salaried employee of the Baltimore Police Department during that time period.
Court records show that the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a motion to seal the case on Tuesday, arguing that making the records public would comprise the case as “law enforcement continues to investigate the defendant for additional violations of federal criminal law.” That motion was granted but the documents were unsealed on Thursday at the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to court records.
De Sousa, a 30-year veteran of the Baltimore Police Department, was named acting commissioner in January after Mayor Catherine Pugh fired his predecessor, Kevin Davis. He was sworn into the permanent position a month later.
Pugh said in a statement released late Thursday that she has “full confidence” in De Sousa.
“As Commissioner De Sousa has explained, he made a mistake in not filing his taxes for the years in question. He is working to resolve this matter and has assured me that he will do so as quickly as possible,” she said. “I have full confidence in Darryl De Sousa in his capacity as Commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department and trust that he will continue to focus on our number one priority of reducing violence.”
De Sousa told local business leaders in April that he planned to “knock the whole house down” and completely rebuild the police department following a year in which the city saw a record 343 homicides and hundreds of assaults, robberies and carjackings.
