A well-known Ethiopian business man in the Washington DC area acknowledged in federal court last Wednesday that he distributed more than $250,000 in bribes in a scheme to obtain lucrative licenses to operate cab companies in the District and to influence city legislation that would benefit his business.
Yitbarek Syume, 53, who has been held in the D.C. jail since his arrest in October 2009, pleaded guilty to bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery, and mail fraud. He could be sentenced to up to nine years in prison under federal guidelines.
Syume told U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman through an Amharic interpreter that he wanted “to apologize to my family, to the Ethiopian community and to this court.” [read more]