'I Have Lost It All:' Former BPD Commissioner Sentenced To Prison

Former Baltimore Police Commissioner Darryl De Sousa was sentenced Friday to 10 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, after pleading guilty to failing to file federal tax returns over three years.

In court, prosecutors called De Sousa, 54, a tax cheat for inflating and falsifying deductions. De Sousa told Judge Catherine C. Blake he was caring for aging parents and should have gotten better tax preparation advice, saying, "I am embarrassed, saddened and disappointed. I have lost it all."

Fmr BPD Commissioner Darryl DeSousa entering fed court for sentencing on failing to file fed tax returns over 3 yrs. I asked def atty how many people have been sentenced to prison on this specific charge..Answer: "very few" pic.twitter.com/llf5dLwv8i — Jayne Miller (@jemillerwbal) March 29, 2019

Blake ordered De Sousa to perform 100 hours of community service and to pay restitution in the full amount of the government's loss, which is $67,587.72. De Sousa's attorney said De Sousa cashed out his retirement to pay off what he owed.

De Sousa pleaded guilty in December to three counts of failing to file tax returns. He also admitted to falsely inflating deductions during several different years.

What prosecutors really used against De Sousa wasn't the actual crime of failing to file returns, but evidence the Internal Revenue Service found that De Sousa had inflated deductions to lower his tax liability.

Prosecutors had sought a year in prison. In court, De Sousa asked for mercy, and no prison time. Instead, he sought home detention. De Sousa had no comment as he left the court.

De Sousa's attorney, Gerrard Martin, suggested to the judge the case could have been resolved civilly.

"(It) could have but didn't. Judge Blake did what she thought was right," Martin said.

A plea agreement written in December states that in 2015, the IRS sent a letter to the Baltimore Police Department about De Sousa claiming too many allowances: "As a result of the letter, BPD began withholding taxes in greater amounts from De Sousa's regular paycheck."

That means some of De Sousa's tax issues were known, at least by the Police Department. He went through a background check when he was named commissioner. No red flags were publicly known to have been raised.

Mayor Catherine Pugh said that the IRS letter sent to the Police Department in December 2015 "was not in the files we saw" before the background check was done when De Sousa was named commissioner.

Fmr BPD Commissioner Darryl DeSousa entering fed court for sentencing on failing to file fed tax returns over 3 yrs. I asked def atty how many people have been sentenced to prison on this specific charge..Answer: "very few" pic.twitter.com/llf5dLwv8i — Jayne Miller (@jemillerwbal) March 29, 2019

The plea agreement details De Sousa had other tax problems. Starting in 1999, he admitted he falsely claimed nine allowances, reducing the amount withheld from his paycheck.

The federal charges against De Sousa came out May 10, and the mayor suspended him with pay May 11. De Sousa resigned as commissioner May 15 after a 30-year police career.

De Sousa called rising to police commissioner his dream job.

"Because of my poor decisions, and taking a wrong turn, it's all gone. I own it," De Sousa said in court.

De Sousa was sworn into office Feb. 28. At the swearing-in ceremony, De Sousa spoke about accountability. Mayor Catherine Pugh appointed De Sousa after firing Kevin Davis, who she said wasn't reducing violence quickly enough. The Baltimore City Council overwhelmingly confirmed De Sousa as police commissioner.

De Sousa's sentencing is four months longer than that of former BPD Commissioner Ed Norris in 2004 for misusing Police Department funds and lying on tax returns.