Ex-Pa. chief to plead guilty in extortion case


January 4, 2013 at 8:36a.m.

Ex-Pa. chief to plead guilty in extortion case

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A former southwestern Pennsylvania police chief is scheduled to plead guilty to federal extortion and other charges before a federal judge in Pittsburgh.

East Washington Borough Chief Donald Solomon was fired in November 2011, a month after a federal grand jury charged him with accepting money from an FBI agent posing as a drug dealer and illegally selling the agent stun guns.

Solomon is also charged with extorting money by providing protection for fake drug transactions and with making threats against a politician and a former girlfriend, the latter resulting in a drive-by shooting that damaged a car.

Federal public defender Market Sims has confirmed Solomon will plead guilty to three counts of Hobbs Act extortion on Friday. The charges carry up to 20 years in prison.