De Sousa, 53, was charged with three misdemeanor counts this week and “willfully failed to file a federal return for tax years 2013, 2014, and 2015, despite having been a salaried employee of the Baltimore Police Department in each of those years,” according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland.
De Sousa’s gross income was between $93,000 and $127,000 for each year between 2013 to 2015, according to federal court documents.
In a statement issued Thursday evening, De Sousa admitted to failing to file his personal state and federal taxes in those years and called his actions a mistake. De Sousa said he had been paying federal, state and local taxes regularly through the salary withholding process.
“While there is no excuse for my failure to fulfill my obligations as a citizen and public official, my only explanation is that I failed to sufficiently prioritize my personal affairs,” De Sousa said. “Naturally, this is a source of embarrassment for me and I deeply regret any embarrassment it has caused the Police Department and the City of Baltimore.”
De Sousa said he has been working with a registered tax adviser to help him with his financial affairs. In his statement, De Sousa noted that he had filed his 2016 taxes and had filed an extension for 2017.
The charges come four months after De Sousa took over the troubled police force in Maryland. De Sousa, who has been with the department for more than 30 years, took over the top position after Mayor Catherine E. Pugh abruptly ousted Commissioner Kevin Davis.
Baltimore ended 2017 with a record-high homicide rate and remains under the watch of federal investigators after the Justice Department declared that the city had engaged in policing that discriminates against those in poor, black neighborhoods.
If convicted, De Sousa could be sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison and fines of up to $75,000.
