Former Scranton cop pleads guilty to bribery

Jun. 14—A former Scranton police corporal admitted in federal court Monday he had sex with confidential informants in exchange for promises to intervene in their criminal cases.

Thomas McDonald, 47, acknowledged to U.S. District Judge Malachy E. Mannion he knew his actions were wrong but did it anyway "of my own free will." McDonald pleaded guilty to one count of federal program bribery, a felony that could potentially put him in prison for a maximum of 10 years.

"How do you plead to count one of the information?" Mannion asked him during a hearing Monday.

"Guilty," McDonald replied.

McDonald served as a city police officer for 17 years until he was fired in June 2020, after an internal investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Olshefski said in court McDonald, who investigated drug crimes in the department's Special Investigations Division, solicited sex from female confidential informants by either helping them with their pending criminal cases or by promising to intercede.

"I do a lot for you," Olshefski said, paraphrasing McDonald's comments to one of the four informants he had sex with. "Why don't you do something for me?"

State police began investigating McDonald in August 2019, after one victim confided in another detective about what had happened, Olshefski said. McDonald was placed on administrative duty that month.

In November 2019, the FBI began assisting state police, Olshefski said. By early 2020, a federal investigation was officially opened. McDonald was placed on paid administrative leave until he was fired in June that year.

After he was fired, he sent text messages to a former colleague threatening him and other officers. Authorities arrested McDonald and he pleaded guilty in December to four misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats.

He was sentenced in April to time served to 23 months followed by eight years of probation — a lengthy term of supervision that Olshefski noted in requesting McDonald be released on his own recognizance while awaiting sentencing. A sentencing date was not yet set.

When he was sentenced in Lackawanna County Court in April, McDonald said he hit "rock bottom." He went through substance abuse treatment and became involved in Alcoholics Anonymous.

After Monday's hearing, McDonald's attorney, Paul Walker, said McDonald has been sober for one year.

"He wants to move forward," Walker said. "He's acknowledged responsibility, taken responsibility."

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.