Private Investigator Admits He Bribed Witness In Jamaica Gun Case

JAMAICA, QUEENS -- A private investigator from the Bronx admitted to bribing and intimidating witnesses to keep quiet in a gun case surrounding his Queens colleague, prosecutors said.

Charles Gallman, 55, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to helping Fredrick Freeman contact the witnesses in a case that began in 2013 after the 30-year-old allegedly pointed a pistol at his girlfriend's brother in Jamaica.

The two threatened and offered bribes to the brother and his family members in an attempt to keep them from cooperating with law enforcement and testifying against Freeman from February 2013 to April 2015, according to the charges.

Investigators caught Gallman and Freeman plotting the bribes and intimidation tactics in wiretapped phone calls when Freeman was behind bars at Rikers Island.

The underlying case stems from Jan. 30, 2013 when Freeman arrived with his girlfriend at her brother's apartment door and pointed a silver pistol at his head, according to the charges. He quickly locked the door and called 911, and cops found the couple with a loaded gun in an apartment three floors down.

Freeman and his girlfriend were each charged with second- and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, according to the indictment.

She was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in 2014, but Freeman's case was still pending when he threatened his girlfriend's family. He implied cooperating or testifying in the case would get them hurt, charges state.

Freeman ultimately pleaded guilty to both the original gun case and witness tampering in May 2016. He was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison.

Charles Gallman is slated to be sentenced on Sept. 20, court records show. He faces up to three years in prison.

“Witnesses of crimes must be protected from outside interference that might affect their testimony," said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.

"My office will not tolerate the intimidation of, or tampering with, witnesses and is committed to the vigorous prosecution of those who engage in such conduct.”

Lead photo via Shutterstock