MARIJUANA DEALER SENTENCED TO A YEAR IN JAIL FOR OFFERING A $500 BRIBE TO ARRESTING OFFICER

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that a 24 year old marijuana dealer has been sentenced to one year in jail for offering a bribe to his arresting officer.

Preston Frye, of 291 Prospect Avenue, the Bronx, was sentenced minutes after pleading guilty to one count of Bribery in the 3rd degree, a Class D felony offense. Frye also entered guilty pleas in two other unrelated cases involving the unlawful possession and sale of marijuana. State Supreme Court Justice Megan Tallmer sentenced Frye to concurrent terms of 30 days in jail on those charges and ordered that the 30 days be served after the completion of the one year sentence for bribery.

Frye was arrested on the bribery charge on April 14, 2005 at NYPD Patrol Service Area 7 at 737 Morris Avenue. The defendant was caught on audio tape offering a plainclothes anti-crime police officer a $500 bribe in exchange for his freedom. The officer had arrested Frye after observing him in possession of a small amount of marijuana behind a building at 1150 Union Avenue. Once he was taken into custody, Frye repeatedly offered to give the officer $500 if he would allow him to walk away without being charged. When the officer reported the bribe offer to his superiors, he was equipped with an electronic surveillance device to allow investigators to monitor his conversations with the defendant and document the bribe offer.

Frye was next arrested and charged with the unlawful possession of marijuana on August 19, 2005. Less than a month later, on September 3, 2005, Frye was arrested and charged with the unlawful sale of marijuana. Both of those arrests occurred while Frye’s bribery case was still pending.

The cases against Frye were prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Gregory Cho of the Rackets Bureau.