Councilman Graham's Chief Of Staff Arrested On Bribery Charges

WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- Ted Loza, chief of staff for Ward One Councilman Jim Graham, has been arrested for bribery. A federal indictment alleges that Loza accepted cash bribes in exchange for his influence on matters before the council regarding the taxi cab industry.

Loza was arrested Wednesday morning at his Columbia Road home, and was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court Wednesday afternoon on the bribery charges. The indictment was filed in court last week and was unsealed Wednesday.

A team of FBI agents executed search warrants at Loza's office at city hall. Graham met with his staff in his Council offices at the District building Wednesday as members of the press congregated outside, awaiting some statement on the matter.

According to the indictment, Loza has worked for Graham since 1998. Graham serves as chairman of the D.C. Council Public Works and Transportation Committee -- the comittee with direct oversight and regulatory authority over the taxi business in the District.

The 10-page indictment includes transcripts of conversations that took place this past summer, between Loza and another person, during which Loza allegedly accepted cash and agreed to promote legislation and policies related to taxicabs that were favorable to the interests of the unnamed individual and his associates.

The indictment includes excerpts of one such conversation between Loza and the other person in July, and indicate that Loza provided the taxi industry person a copy of a Graham-sponsored bill, and accepted $500 cash.

Efforts to reach Loza or his attorney Pleasant Broadnax for comment Wednesday afternoon were not successful.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorneys Office declined comment when asked whether the scope of the investigation may go beyond Mr. Loza's alleged involvement, or whether Councilman Graham was implicated in the investigation as well.

Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray issued the following statement:

"Consistent with the standard practice in criminal investigations not to reveal in advance the issuance or execution of an arrest warrant or a search warrant, I was not made aware of the arrest of Mr. Loza nor the search of his office in the John A. Wilson Building before that happened. I will leave the criminal investigation in the hands of law enforcement authorities and let the justice process take its course. I plan to have a conversation with Councilmember Graham to determine if the investigation will have any bearing on the broad operations of the Council, and how this may affect the work of his office and the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, which Mr. Graham chairs."