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FBI Agent Bribed for Confidential Info
WHITE PLAINS, NY – Two Connecticut men pleaded guilty to bribing a former FBI agent for confidential information in a shocking scheme.
Johannes Thaler, 51, of Fairfield County, Connecticut, and Rizve Ahmed, aka “Caesar,” 35, of Danbury, Connecticut, admitted to participating in a bribery scheme with Robert Lustyik, a former FBI Special Agent in White Plains who worked on the counterintelligence squad. In a series of text messages, they agreed to pay Lustyik a $40,000 “retainer” and $30,000 “monthly” for confidential law enforcement documents and information.
Thaler and Ahmed sought confidential information, including a Suspicious Activity Report, pertaining to a Bangladeshi political figure who was affiliated with a political party opposing Ahmed’s views. They admitted to exchanging various text messages in furtherance of the scheme, including messages about how to pressure Ahmed to pay them additional money in exchange for confidential information.
Lustyik and Thaler even discussed how to harm Ahmed’s intended victim and others associated with the victim. They also talked about setting up Ahmed and getting the inside information from the party. Lustyik learned that Ahmed was considering using a different source to obtain confidential information and sent a text message to Thaler stating, “I want to kill [Ahmed] . . . . I hung my ass out the window n we got nothing? . . . . Tell [Ahmed], I’ve got [the victim’s] number and I’m pissed. . . . I will put a wire on n get [Ahmed and his associates] to admit they want [a Bangladeshi political figure] offed n we sell it to the victim].”
Thaler and Ahmed are scheduled for sentencing on January 23, 2015. Lustyik is scheduled for trial on November 17, 2014. The charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Allee of the White Plains Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
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Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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