Jan 14, 2015 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – Former East Washington police chief Donald Solomon, who pleaded guilty in an undercover FBI drug extortion sting, received a reduced prison sentence Wednesday afternoon from a federal judge who acknowledged the steps he has taken to rehabilitate himself.

Solomon was resentenced by U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti to 7 years, 3 months in prison, knocking four years off the minimum prison sentence he received in June 2013. In September, the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals vacated Solomon’s original prison sentence and ordered the district court to resentence him after determining Conti used the wrong guidelines to increase Solomon’s sentence for abusing a position of trust.

Solomon, 58, was East Washington’s chief when he was arrested in 2011. He pleaded guilty in January 2013 to three counts of extortion and was sentenced in June of that year to a minimum of 11 years, 3 months, to a maximum of 14 years in prison. Solomon acknowledged he offered to help protect purported drug dealers, who were really undercover FBI agents, during several controlled cocaine buys in 2011, and extorted $7,800 in exchange for the protection.

Solomon, looking considerably older, became emotional after entering the courtroom and saying hello to family and friends who attended to offer support. Solomon told the court that Wednesday was the first time he had seen two of his three children in the last 18 months.

His attorney, Elisa Long, told the court Solomon “acted out of character” when he agreed to participate in the sting. Long said Solomon went beyond “ordinary” measures while in prison to get his life back on track.

“In my 20 years of experience, he has done more than any other client has done in a prison setting,” Long told the court.

She said Solomon was a model inmate who works in the prison’s laundry facility, has completed several courses and has immersed himself in his faith. After his arrest, Solomon found employment at Giant Eagle in McMurray, became active with Trinity Bible Fellowship in Washington and received mental health treatment, Long said.

Several of Solomon’s friends addressed the court in his support. Many asked the judge for mercy.

“I ask that you look at the man, not the incident,” the Rev. Michael Roach of Trinity Bible Fellowship said.

Solomon briefly addressed the court, issuing apologies to East Washington, his friends and family and the government. He thanked those who have stood by him and acknowledged his guilt.

He said the hardest part of his sentence has been being apart from family.

“I consider it to be a part of my punishment,” he said.

Solomon told the court that his daughter, who lives in Florida with her husband and two children, has been unable to visit him for the last two years. Conti recommended he be transferred to a prison closer to Pittsburgh or Florida so that he can be reunited with family.

Conti told Solomon that his actions and behaviors following his crime were taken into consideration when she determined his new sentence.

“I am aware of the steps you took,” she said. “I don’t see you committing future crimes.”

Long, an assistant federal public defender, had requested a sentence of 7 years, 3 months to 9 years, “based upon the commendable efforts (Solomon) has made to rehabilitate himself both on pretrial release and since he began his sentence in the Bureau of Prisons.”

U.S. Attorney David Hickton still sought the sentence originally imposed. However, he did not object in court to Conti’s ruling Wednesday.

Solomon came to the attention of federal authorities in 2009 when, according to court records, “his behavior after his divorce … caused them to engage an unidentified confidential informant described by Solomon as ‘an erstwhile friend’ to probe Solomon’s criminal tendencies.” That behavior, investigators said, involved disturbing threats to an ex-girlfriend and an East Washington councilman.

After agreeing to work with the informant, Solomon was recorded boasting, “I’m the best cop money can buy,” and showed up at one of the staged drug deals in uniform, with his police cruiser, and carrying a shotgun, an AR-15 rifle and 9mm handgun, court records state.

Solomon has been serving his federal sentence at a Louisiana prison.