Ex-California cop admits seeking bribes from Colombian art dealer for immigration help

The dealer was a confidential informant for Detective Paul Gollogly and the department's money-laundering unit, but his information led to no arrests.

A former Murrieta Police Department detective pleaded guilty on Friday, Oct. 13, to soliciting bribes from a Colombian art dealer in exchange for helping him enter and work in the United States, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Paul John Gollogly, 74, of Temecula, pleaded guilty to one count of bribery in U.S. District Court in Riverside.

Gollogly began working for Murrieta police in March 2013 to lead its anti money laundering program, according to his plea agreement. He handled confidential informants registered with the department, including non-U.S. citizens who needed authorization from the U.S. government to enter and work in the country.

In April 2013, Gollogly registered a Colombian national and wealthy art dealer who owned art galleries in New York and Spain and a hotel in Mexico as a confidential informant with the Murrieta Police Department. Gollogly had registered that dealer as a confidential informant when Gollogly worked at a Florida police department.

From April 2013 to February 2020, Gollogly helped the dealer obtain various immigration benefits, including authorization from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to allow him to enter and work in the United States for one year at a time. Gollogly also attempted to assist with the dealer’s permanent residency application.

And Gollogly wrote letters of support to Homeland Security for his entry into the U.S., falsely stating that his work as a confidential informant resulted in arrests, seizures of large amounts of money and drugs. But the information he provided Murrieta police resulted in none of these, the DOJ said.

In exchange for the immigration assistance, prosecutors say Gollogly solicited and received benefits from the dealer, including:

• Tickets to art shows in New York and Miami.

• The hiring of a Gollogly family friend to work at one of the dealer’s businesses and helping a Gollogly relative secure a job with a major philanthropist.

• Arranging for hotel stays for two close Gollogly relatives and another Gollogly friend at the dealer’s hotel in Mexico, including one July 2014 stay in which – at Gollogly’s request – the dealer had wine and flowers left inside the hotel room of one of the relatives.

• Paying four months’ rent in 2018 and 2019 for a Gollogly relative who was living in New York City

• Paying for dinner at an upscale New York restaurant for Gollogly and four of his relatives in December 2019.

Sentencing was set for Jan. 19, when Gollogly will face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. Prosecutors have agreed to seek no more than 18 months’ imprisonment.