Why Clearing A Cop's Name Matters In Abramoff Scandal

Blake said he might need Valdes to do him a favor. That favor turned out to be obtaining data such as automobile registration information about various people through a police computer system. In implicit exchange for the assistance, Blake gave Valdes money.

Valdes was indicted on three counts of bribery and was convicted on three counts of receipt of an illegal gratuity, a lesser charge. But he appealed and won reversal last month.

The majority ruled that the government "failed to show that the acts for which Valdes received compensation were official acts" within the meaning of the bribery statute. What the government needed, the decision stated, was to show "at least a rudimentary degree of formality" in what that official act was.

In dissent, Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson accused the majority of, in effect, making payoffs legal.

"In Mexico, they call it 'la mordida' (literally, 'the bite'); in Iran, 'bakhshish'; and in France, 'pot-de-vin.' Here in America, we call it a 'payoff' and, today, the majority calls it lawful," Henderson wrote.

She also said that Valdes was clearly acting officially when he used the police's special databases.

But at least for cases that come before the federal court in Washington, the majority will rule. Any future bribery charges against lawmakers or their aides will probably be harder to prove thanks to this obscure onetime detective.

Jeffrey Birnbaum writes about the intersection of government and business every other Monday. His e-mail address iskstreetconfidential@washpost.com.