LOS ANGELES — A federal grand jury indicted the veteran police chief for the Port of Los Angeles in an alleged kickback and bribery scheme involving the development of a smartphone app that was supposed to help reduce crime at the nation’s busiest seaport.
Ronald Jerome Boyd, 57, was named in a 16-count indictment that alleged wire fraud, lying to FBI agents, tax evasion and failing to file federal corporate tax returns.
Boyd, who recently was promoted to lead the port’s homeland security operations as well, agreed to surrender to federal agents next week, said Daniel J. O’Brien, an assistant U.S. attorney in the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section.
He was indicted Thursday, when the port also put him on administrative leave.
The ports of Los Angeles and neighboring Long Beach are the primary West Coast gateway for hundreds of billions of dollars of annual trade, much of it with Asia.