A jury quickly convicted a former top official of the Drug Enforcement Administration in New York City and a DEA employee Thursday for failing to disclose their ownership of a New Jersey bikini bar.

banging a gavel (Photodisc, ThinkStock)
banging a gavel (Photodisc, ThinkStock)
loading...

Jurors found that retired agent David Polos and DEA telecommunications specialist Glen Glover broke the law by conspiring to hide their ownership interest in the Twins Go-Go Lounge in South Hackensack, New Jersey, when they filled out security clearance forms in 2011. The Manhattan jury returned its verdict after three hours of deliberations.

Polos, 52, of West Nyack, New York, also was convicted of failing to disclose that he was romantically involved with a Twins Go-Go dancer from Brazil who had entered the country illegally. Polos was assistant director in charge of the DEA's New York office when it handled numerous major cases, including the shutdown of Silk Road, an anonymous website that authorities said rang up $8 million in monthly drug sales.

Prosecutors said the men failed to disclose their ownership of the club because they knew it could cost them their jobs, since the DEA would not permit them to work at an establishment where drug and prostitution crimes were likely to occur. Such an affiliation could cause the men to become compromised in positions where they were privy to top-secret information, they said.

Glover, 46, of Lyndhurst, New Jersey, has been suspended without pay since the men were arrested last year.

No sentencing date was immediately set. Glover's lawyer, Cathy Fleming, said she would renew her request that U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe find that evidence was insufficient to convict the men.

"I'm shocked by it," Fleming said of the verdict. "Very disappointed in the verdict."

Attorney Marc Mukasey, who represented Polos, called his client a "hero DEA agent."

"We respect the jury's verdict, but we don't think he committed any crime," Mukasey said.

The lawyers had argued throughout trial that it was unnecessary for the men to disclose their partial ownership because the investment was similar to buying a stock.

During closing arguments Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Martin Bell attacked that argument, saying the men were heavily involved in the day-to-day operations of the adult establishment, working shifts throughout the week as they supervised and paid employees, arranged advertising and oversaw renovations.

He noted that they each had dozens of phone and text communications with the club on the same day they filled out DEA security clearance forms.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

 

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM