A federal jury found Jackson guilty in October, following a brief trial. He did not take the stand in his own defense and said nothing during his sentencing.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Jackson, who was the chief of police of the Longwood PD for three years before retiring May 28, 2010, received steady cash payments from Samer Majzoub, a convicted felon, who remains at large despite a longstanding warrant for his arrest as a fugitive from justice.
In return, Jackson appointed Majzoub as an officer with the Longwood Police Department. He gave Majzoub, who was living in Heathrow, the supervisory titles of commander, lieutenant, and sergeant, and provided him with badges and credentials that represented Majzoub as an officer of the Longwood police force.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Jackson, who was the chief of police of the Longwood PD for three years before retiring May 28, 2010, received steady cash payments from Samer Majzoub, a convicted felon, shown here, who remains at large despite a longstanding warrant for his arrest as a fugitive from justice.
In return for the cash bribes, Jackson appointed Majzoub as an officer with the Longwood Police Department. He gave Majzoub the supervisory titles of commander, lieutenant, and sergeant, and provided him with badges and credentials that represented Majzoub as an officer of the Longwood police force.
Jackson also assisted Majzoub in possessing firearms and ammunition. As a previously convicted felon, Majzoub was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under federal law.
A grand jury indictment handed up accuses Majzoub of one count of conspiracy and three counts of bribery of an agent of a local government receiving federal funds.
According to a 1994 civil complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Majzoub's company, Special Delivery Services, violated federal anti-fraud regulations when he lied to investors and hid inflated payments from brokers.
Former Longwood Police Chief Thomas Jackson is followed by Central Florida TV reporters on his way into the federal courthouse in Orlando for sentencing, but ignores their requests for comment.Majzoub had pleaded guilty to conspiracy and mail fraud in Manhattan federal court, in 1993, and was sentenced in to three years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa said.
A Florida Department of Law Enforcement analyst had testified that she told Jackson that Majzoub was not eligible for police certification due to his felony conviction.
Jackson submitted his name for certification anyway and then tried to cover it up, federal prosecutors asserted at his trial.
Jackson's defense counsel in closing arguments said he was not aware Majzoub was a convicted felon, despite the prosecution's star witness testimony, and that he only took the money as a loan to buy his dream property in North Carolina, which is not a crime.
Jackson stood alone, expressionless, during his presentment for sentencing.
News of the former lawman's punishment drew quick reaction from a woman whose former husband worked with him in Longwood municipal government.
"Omg tommy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Rose Mcwhorter, a tarot card reader in Daytona Beach, reacted, after Headline Surfer® put out a news flash on its social media contacts via Facebook and Twitter.
"You know this guy" she was asked? "Yep. My ex-husband was city attorney in Longwood during some of his time as chief."
News of the former Longwood lawman's punishment drew quick reaction from a woman whose former husband worked with him in Longwood municipal government.
"Omg tommy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Rose Mcwhorter, a tarot card reader in Daytona Beach shown here, reacted to the four year prison sentence given Thomas Jackson, after Headline Surfer® put out a news flash on its social media contacts via Facebook and Twitter.
"You know this guy" she was asked? "Yep. My ex-husband was city attorney in Longwood during some of his time as chief."
Jackson, who lives in Murphy, NC, was allowed to walk out of the courthouse to get his personal affairs in order by the end of next week and then surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to begin his four years of incarceration,one year of supervised release.
This government's case against Longwood's former top cop was investigated by the FBI and IRS. He was prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Roger B. Handberg and James D. Mandolfo.