A former high-ranking D.C. government official pleaded guilty Friday to taking a bribe in order to steer government contracts related to public safety.
Dana McDaniel was the deputy director of the D.C. Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) from 2020 through mid-2023. She managed programming and services focused on providing resources and interventions for residents impacted by violence in the city.
McDaniel accepted at least $10,000 in cash from a Maryland resident to direct contracts and grants to two different D.C.-based businesses, prosecutors said. Authorities said McDaniel accepted the cash over about a two-year span, from before September 2022 through at least August 2024.
Prosecutors didn't name the Maryland resident or the businesses involved, but said one company represented itself as a community-based initiative to serve high-risk youths and adults and operated throughout D.C. The second business provided violence intervention services as part of ONSE’s violence intervention initiative in Ward 5.
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Based on the description of the companies in McDaniel's indictment, they appear to be the same companies involved in the alleged bribes offered to former Councilmember Trayon White. White pleaded not guilty to the charge against him.
McDaniel faces a maximum of 15 years in prison.
McDaniel transferred to the Department of Employment Services in 2023, but left that job in September 2024 and no longer works for the D.C. government, the mayor's office previously said.
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