PHOENIX, March 23 (UPI) -- Federal prosecutors say a Phoenix FBI agent pleaded guilty Monday to charges stemming from an affair he had with the wife of a man he was investigating.
Joe Gordwin, 40, of Phoenix entered the plea to three counts of "honest services" wire fraud and was ordered to appear for sentencing on June 29.
The U.S. attorney's office said in a written statement that Gordwin had repeatedly used his authority to assist the woman and her family, including trying to convince Arizona prosecutors to strike a plea bargain with his lover's husband, whom he had arrested in an earlier gang investigation.
"Mr. Gordwin flagrantly and repeatedly violated the oath he took to follow all of the rules, regulations and laws that govern the conduct of a federal agent," said Thomas O'Brien, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, whose office handled the prosecution. "This FBI agent compromised at least two criminal investigations and, as a result, will likely serve time in prison."
O'Brien's office said Gordwin arrested a suspect identified as B.M. in 2005. Shortly afterward, he met the man's wife and struck up a relationship with her.
Afterward, Gordwin attempted to intercede with Scottsdale police and Maricopa County prosecutors to win B.M. a lighter sentence. He also introduced a confidential informant to his mistress and concealed the relationship from his superiors.
