Harry Thomas Jr.

In 2020, Thomas became a committeeman for the District of Columbia Democratic State Committee, representing Ward 5.

Thomas' 39-month prison sentence began in June 2013. In 2014, the United States Marshals Service flew Thomas to the District of Columbia to meet with the United States Attorney's Office for an undisclosed reason. In August 2015, Thomas was transferred to a half-way house in Maryland, where he stayed for six months. Thomas' incarceration ended in March 2015.

He resigned his seat on January 5, 2012, several hours after federal prosecutors filed charges of embezzlement and filing false tax returns. Earlier that week he had failed to make his second installment payment on the repayment agreement, amid rumors of the pending criminal charges. Represented by lawyer Karl Racine, on January 6 he pleaded guilty to felony counts of theft of government funds and falsifying tax returns.

On June 6, 2011, the D.C. Attorney General released a report accusing Thomas of diverting public funds for personal use. Thomas was accused of using $300,000 in city grants that were earmarked for charity and youth baseball groups to pay for his personal expenses, including golfing vacations and an SUV, which was later seized by the FBI on December 2, 2011, in an ongoing investigation. Those baseball groups included the councilmember's own group, Team Thomas - although the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs revoked corporate registration for Team Thomas in 2009, and the Internal Revenue Service never recognized it as a charity. A civil lawsuit filed against him by the district's attorney general was settled in July 2011 when Thomas agreed to repay the $300,000 in six installments over the next three years. Following this agreement, Thomas remained on the council and continued to maintain he was innocent of criminal behavior as the United States Attorney's Office continued to investigate the case.

On September 12, 2006, Thomas won the Democratic primary for Ward 5 council member with 39 percent of the vote, beating 10 other candidates. The previous Ward 5 member, Vincent Orange, ran for mayor rather than running for reelection. On November 7, 2006, Thomas won the general election with 85 percent of the vote. He was re-elected in 2010.

Harry Thomas, Jr. (born October 21, 1960), is a Democratic politician in Washington, D.C. In 2006 he was elected to represent Ward 5 on the Council of the District of Columbia and served until his resignation in 2012, several hours after federal prosecutors filed charges of embezzlement and filing false tax returns against him.