The Synagro deal: FBI investigates Detroit City Council
A waste contract approved last year by the Detroit City Council is under federal investigation. The council voted 5-4 in November 2007 to award Synagro Technologies Inc., based in Houston, Texas, a contract to handle the city's processed sewage for close to $47 million a year.
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Nolan Finley
Commentary: Detroit can do better than this
Family troubles can happen to anyone. But to have both of Detroit's members of Congress dodging the stink of the City Hall corruption scandal begs the question: C'mon Detroit, can't you do better than this? - 03/14/2010
Conyers could have received more jail time
Detroit -- Monica Conyers, who is appealing her 37-month prison sentence, may have received three months less than planned. - 03/12/2010
Conyers gets Ann Arbor attorney for appeal
Detroit -- Ann Arbor-based attorney Douglas Mullkoff has been appointed to represent former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers in her appeal of the 37-month prison sentence in the City Hall sludge scandal. - 03/12/2010
Daniel Howes
Money fueled evil in Detroit
Money is the reason Monica Conyers, the former City Council president, is headed for 37 months in a federal prison, convicted of taking bribes from Synagro Technologies Inc. in exchange for her vote. She wanted more of it, her "loot." - 03/11/2010
Critics, supporters weigh in on Monica Conyers sentencing
Detroit -- Monica Conyers is vowing to fight a 37-month sentence for bribery, but at least one former City Council colleague says she should be thankful she's not going to prison longer. - 03/11/2010
U.S. Rep. Conyers avoids sentencing for embattled wife
Washington -- On a day his wife was front and center, Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, stayed in the shadows. - 03/11/2010
Today's Focus
Monica Conyers gets 37 months for bribes, vows appeal
Detroit -- Monica Conyers, who plunged her sentencing hearing into controversy Wednesday, has slim hopes of successfully appealing her 37-month prison term, experts say. - 03/11/2010
Federal judge had planned stiffer sentence for Conyers
Monica Conyers didn't like the 37-month prison sentence a judge handed her Wednesday, but it may have been lighter than planned. - 03/11/2010
Experts say Monica Conyers unlikely to avoid jail
Detroit --Last July, not long after Monica Conyers pleaded guilty to a bribery charge, her attorney said he hoped to keep her out of prison. - 03/10/2010
Angry Conyers vows to appeal 37-month prison sentence
Detroit --Former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers was sentenced to 37 months in prison today, but not before controversy and confusion erupted when she announced she wanted to withdraw her guilty plea to bribery. - 03/10/2010
Conyers' sentencing date nears
Detroit -- Federal prosecutors say former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers displayed a "pattern of abuse of office and self-enrichment" that should result in a substantial prison sentence. - 03/09/2010
Ruling possible today on Riddle's choice for lawyer
Detroit -- A judge today could decide whether a former federal prosecutor can represent Sam Riddle in one case and the woman he's accused of assaulting in another. - 03/09/2010
Riddle hires new lawyer for domestic case
Detroit -- A Northville attorney says Sam Riddle has hired him to represent the Detroit political consultant in his domestic assault case involving his former live-in companion, former state Rep. Mary Waters. - 03/06/2010
Riddle may announce plans for attorney today
Detroit -- Political consultant Sam Riddle says he may have an announcement later today about retaining his own attorney to fight his retrial on political corruption charges. - 03/05/2010
Hearing set over Riddle lawyer
Detroit -- A federal judge set a March 8 hearing on Sam Riddle's legal representation after a Monday deadline passed without the political consultant informing the court that he had retained a private attorney. - 03/02/2010
Laura Berman
Tether doesn't restrain Riddle
He operates with an electronic tether on his ankle and a judicial gag order on his mouth. But days after a holdout juror forced a mistrial, Sam Riddle is a hard man to muzzle or shut down. - 02/23/2010
Sam Riddle retrial set for July 12
Detroit -- A retrial in political consultant Sam Riddle's corruption case is set for July 12, a federal judge ruled today. - 02/22/2010
Riddle shopping around for lawyers, money for retrial
Political consultant Sam Riddle said Thursday he is shopping for new lawyers and identified Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger as one he might want in his corner. - 02/19/2010
Race, rancor inside Riddle jury room
Tempers flared among jurors in Sam Riddle's political corruption trial when they attempted their very first task -- picking a foreperson. - 02/18/2010
Outside court, it's unanimous: Wrong is wrong, whatever race
Detroit -- Sam Riddle had more supporters in a U.S. District Court jury room than a block away at Lafayette Coney Island. - 02/18/2010
Racial makeup of juries debated
Detroit -- The mistrial in political consultant Sam Riddle's corruption case is renewing the debate over the racial makeup of juries in Metro Detroit. - 02/18/2010
Holdout juror mum on Riddle case
Whatever reason Angela Woods had for being the lone holdout on convicting Sam Riddle in his federal bribery case she is keeping close to the vest. Woods, the only African-American on the jury, steadfastly refused to answer questions from reporters over whether she played the race card in refusing to go along with her fellow jurors and convict Riddle, who is also black. - 02/17/2010
Riddle jury returns to deliberations
Detroit -- The jury in Sam Riddle's political corruption trial returns to the federal courthouse in Detroit today for what could be its final try at reaching a unanimous verdict. - 02/16/2010
Sam Riddle's jury may be deadlocked 11-1
Jurors who have deliberated about 14 hours in the corruption trial of political consultant Sam Riddle may be deadlocked 11-1, based on a comment Thursday by one of Riddle's attorneys. - 02/12/2010
Riddle jury goes home for long weekend
Jurors in the corruption trial of political consultant Sam Riddle have gone home until Tuesday morning. - 02/11/2010
Riddle jury at impasse
The prospect of a mistrial in the corruption trial of political consultant Sam Riddle surfaced Wednesday after it was revealed that multiple jurors had sent notes to the judge hearing the case and the judge had met individually with several jurors during deliberations. - 02/11/2010
After 3 days, Riddle jurors at impasse
U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn sent jurors home for the day Wednesday after they sent notes and had meetings with the judge indicating they were at least temporarily deadlocked. - 02/10/2010
Riddle jurors go home for the day
Jurors have gone home after the second day of deliberations in the corruption trial of political consultant Sam Riddle. - 02/09/2010
Jury begins deliberations in Riddle corruption trial
Detroit -- Jurors in Sam Riddle's corruption trial are to resume deliberations this morning after attorneys asked them Monday to decide whether Riddle is a "political pimp" or a consultant who had a greedy client. - 02/09/2010
Waters praying for Riddle's acquittal
Detroit -- Former State Rep. Mary Waters sat in the front row of the courtroom for closing arguments in Sam Riddle's political corruption case and said she is praying for his acquittal. - 02/08/2010
Targets guessed FBI was listening
Sam Riddle's trial, expected to go to the jury today, showed how closely the FBI was watching and listening, photographing and recording during much of the time Kwame Kilpatrick was mayor and how Riddle and others suspected they were watching. - 02/08/2010
Riddle jury ends deliberations for the day
Detroit -- Jurors in Sam Riddle's political corruption trial went home for the day Monday after a little more than two hours of deliberation and are to return to the courthouse at 9 a.m. Tuesday. - 02/08/2010
Nolan Finley
Commentary: What did John Conyers know?
John Conyers has stayed aloof from the bribery scandal that's smeared his convicted felon wife, answering questions about Monica Conyers with a defiant, "I'm not talking about that." That would be OK if Conyers were a private guy drawing a private paycheck. - 02/07/2010
Riddle opts not to take stand
Detroit -- For seven days, Sam Riddle's corruption trial detailed a litany of alleged shakedowns by him and his former boss, Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers, as the outspoken political consultant hinted on social networking sites he'd eventually speak in his own defense. - 02/05/2010
Conyers' demands for cash described
Much of the testimony at Sam Riddle's political corruption trial has centered on the alleged greed of his one-time boss, former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers. - 02/04/2010
Synagro's new bid rejected
City officials have rejected a bid by Synagro to regain a sludge-disposal contract that was voided last year after a company official admitted bribing Detroit leaders to get the deal. - 02/04/2010
Riddle won't testify in his corruption case
Political consultant Sam Riddle will not testify in his own defense at his corruption trial and closing arguments in the case are set for Monday. Riddle's attorneys informed U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn of Riddle's decision not to testify after huddling with Riddle following a heated exchange between Riddle and Cohn. The judge had demanded to know if Riddle would testify in his own defense. - 02/04/2010
Riddle jury told Conyers got cash for travel and shopping
A real estate developer testified today he gave former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers thousands of dollars in cash for travel, shopping trips and tuition for one of her children, and that she once reached into his pocket at a restaurant and took hundreds of dollars. Melvin Washington, president of the Phoenix Group of companies, said he initially gave Conyers the cash because he considered her a friend but eventually felt pressured because he had a request for $15 million in financing before a city pension board, on which Conyers sat as a trustee. - 02/03/2010
Witness testifies Conyers suggested pension fund loan
Detroit -- Former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers urged a real estate company to seek funding from the city pension fund where she sat as a trustee, a corruption trial was told Monday. - 02/02/2010
Conyers' flip-flop on sewage deal unusual, Ken Cockrel Jr. tells Riddle trial
Detroit City Councilman Kenneth Cockrel Jr., once ridiculed by being called "Shrek" by former Councilwoman Monica Conyers, got a chance to turn the tables this morning at the corruption trial of political consultant Sam Riddle. - 02/01/2010
Riddle jury sees FBI's video
Detroit -- Prosecutors on Friday showed jurors in Sam Riddle's corruption trial FBI surveillance video of Riddle, former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers and Detroit businessman Rayford W. Jackson standing together the day Riddle allegedly funneled a bribe to Conyers for her Synagro vote. - 01/30/2010
Riddle trial raises questions about Synagro bribes
Detroit -- Who knew what at Synagro about bribes paid in connection with a $1.2 billion sewage sludge contract the Texas company was awarded by the Detroit City Council? Evidence presented Friday at the corruption trial of political consultant Sam Riddle raised more questions than answers. - 01/30/2010
FBI sting yields tapes on alleged bribes
The FBI set up a sting operation in 2007 in which it gave a purported real estate developer $10,000 to bribe members of the Detroit City Council, newly disclosed government records show. - 01/29/2010
2 testify Riddle sought $25K for Conyers' vote
Two officials of a strip club company testified Wednesday they were so shocked when political consultant Sam Riddle asked them for $25,000 in exchange for a Detroit city councilwoman's vote they wondered if he was working for law enforcement. - 01/28/2010
Riddle trial witness says Conyers pushed for pension fund loan
Detroit -- A trustee of the city's main employee pension fund testified Tuesday that former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers repeatedly pressed for action on a loan to a wireless technology company even though others on the board weren't interested in funding the proposal. - 01/27/2010
Strip club reps say Riddle wanted bribe
A Detroit businessman testified today that he feared that if he didn't pay $25,000 to Sam Riddle that former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers would vote against the transfer of a strip-club license. - 01/27/2010
Laura Berman
In Sam Riddle's view, women to blame
A jury could take a month to decide if Sam Riddle is guilty of bribery. Some observers in the courtroom Monday needed only minutes to convict him of attitudes and conduct toward women that might otherwise be presumed extinct. - 01/26/2010
Riddle teams with Conyers in 'pirate' life
Detroit -- Longtime consultant Sam Riddle described himself and former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers as "political pirates," prosecutors charged in the first day of testimony at Riddle's corruption trial. - 01/26/2010
Conyers kept pressing for loan, pension trustee tells Riddle trial
Detroit -- Former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers repeatedly pressed for city pension board action on a loan to a technology company even though other members were not interested in funding the proposal, a former fund trustee testified today. - 01/26/2010
Monica Conyers 'crazy,' Riddle says in call played at his corruption trial
Prosecutors played recordings of Sam Riddle's telephone calls in which he disparages his former boss as "crazy" and possibly "beyond medication," and another where he described the pair as "political pirates." Riddle is on trial before a jury and U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn, but Conyers is not. She pleaded guilty to a five-year bribery conspiracy charge last summer and awaits sentencing March 10. - 01/25/2010
Monica Conyers not expected to testify against Riddle
Former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers will not be called as a witness in the upcoming corruption trial of political consultant Sam Riddle, a prosecutor said today. - 01/12/2010
Ex-news anchor Stinger denies ties to Synagro
Detroit -- Ex-news anchor Fanchon Stinger says she had no dealings with a company at the center of an FBI probe that led to convictions of her former boyfriend and a Detroit councilwoman. - 12/01/2009
Detroit City Hall probe may take years
The federal corruption probe of City Hall could extend for years, but federal agents will bring lawbreakers to justice, vows U.S. attorney Terrence Berg. - 09/02/2009
Analysis
Riddle faces tough trial
The number of people formally charged as a result of a long-running public corruption investigation increased to nine Thursday when political consultant Sam Riddle and former state representative Mary Waters were arraigned in U.S. District Court in Detroit. - 07/17/2009
Controversy follows flamboyant Riddle
The federal indictment Wednesday of Sam Riddle, the charismatic and often bombastic political consultant, caps a career often punctuated by controversy. - 07/16/2009
Riddle charged with $100K in shakedowns
Detroit--A federal grand jury indictment handed down Wednesday depicts political consultant Sam Riddle and former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers as a two-headed shakedown team -- he the "consultant" who took about $100,000 from businesses, she the elected official and pension trustee with the power to make things happen for those who paid. - 07/16/2009
Riddle vows 'tooth and nail' court fight
Detroit --Sam Riddle is vowing vindication and sticking to routines. - 07/16/2009
Hold the Onions
Councilwoman Reeves to keep donations from ex-Synagro exec
City Councilwoman Martha Reeves says she will not return campaign donations from a former sludge company executive who plead guilty to bribing city officials in connection with a billion dollar waste handling contract. - 07/10/2009
Conyers sentence fires up debate
Detroit City Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers says she chose her words carefully on her TV show this week because "I don't want to go to jail." - 07/02/2009
Riddle: FBI probed $50K deal with Dems
Sam Riddle says federal investigators have questioned $50,000 he received in 2006 from the Michigan Democratic Party -- payments he described as election year "hush money." - 07/01/2009
Fed official may have given Conyers' aide inside information
A paralegal at the federal prosecutor's office is suspended after officials suspected she leaked confidential information to Detroit political consultant Sam Riddle while he was under criminal investigation. - 06/30/2009
Daniel Howes
Detroit gets chance to rise from ashes
It took Monica Conyers, guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery and soon a former member of the City Council, to show that Detroit does have public standards after all. - 06/30/2009
Colleague says Rep. Conyers shaken
Rep. John Conyers spent Friday casting a long series of votes and avoiding reporters' questions as news spread at the Capitol about his city councilwoman wife's guilty plea. - 06/27/2009
Conyers' behavior puzzling, her friends say
When U.S. Rep. John Conyers campaigned on behalf of his wife, his appeal was direct: "Join the Conyers family as we fight to take back Detroit from those that put self-interest above your interests." - 06/27/2009
Detroiters weary of political corruption
Faced with another political leader pleading guilty to a felony, Detroiters expressed disappointment Friday and said their faith in elected leaders is fragile. - 06/27/2009
Council fate hinges on conviction
Unless President Pro Tem Monica Conyers agrees to step down, her fate on Detroit City Council remains murky. - 06/27/2009
'Not the end' of City Hall corruption probe
Monica Conyers' guilty plea marks a major milestone in a long-running investigation of Detroit City Hall corruption, but officials say there is more to come. - 06/27/2009
Monica best when the spotlight is off
I began to understand how bizarre Detroit politics could be when I met a high-strung city councilwoman for a cocktail at a local jazz club. - 06/27/2009
Editorial: Monica Conyers should resign seat
Detroit City Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers' Friday guilty plea to a single federal bribery conspiracy charge is another sorry episode for the city. Conyers should be graceful and immediately resign her council seat to spare officials and residents any further distractions from city business. - 06/27/2009
Conyers admits trading Synagro vote for cash
Detroit City Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers, who loudly proclaimed her innocence for months, spoke softly in federal court Friday when admitting she took bribes in exchange for her vote on a $1.2 billion sewage sludge contract. - 06/27/2009
Conyers worries about FBI investigation
Detroit City Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers says she's worried about an ongoing FBI investigation into City Hall corruption but does not feel she can control its outcome. - 06/20/2009
Monica Conyers tie to $40K in jewelry probed
Federal agents are investigating allegations that Councilwoman Monica Conyers received thousands of dollars in jewelry from a pawn shop whose owner urged the council to ease off on plans to increase regulation of his business, people familiar with a City Hall corruption investigation told The Detroit News. - 06/19/2009
Laura Berman
Monica Conyers and a call to prayer
In the absence of other connectors, Monica Conyers is the glue that holds us together in these down times. - 06/18/2009
Bribery probe closes in on Conyers
Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers said Tuesday she's trusting God to deliver her from her mounting problems -- a possible federal indictment and the prospect of prison. - 06/17/2009
Exclusive interview
Developer cuts losses, will plead in Synagro bribery probe
Saying the feds have "my back against the wall," developer Rayford Jackson said he plans to plead guilty Monday in federal court to charges that he conspired to bribe elected officials in connection with a city sludge deal. - 06/13/2009
Detroit businessman Rayford Jackson accused of fraud
A Lathrup Village woman alleges Detroit businessman Rayford W. Jackson and his associates defrauded her of more than $355,000 on a deal to buy and renovate 10 Detroit-area homes. - 06/06/2009
Exec tied to fraud probe
A Detroit businessman linked to an ongoing FBI probe of the City Hall sludge scandal also is under scrutiny by Wayne County Sheriff's Office investigators probing alleged real estate fraud. - 06/03/2009
Rev. Edgar Vann: Faith and policy
Detroiters must demand civility from City Council
The virtual deconstruction of Detroit is continually exacerbated by political leadership behavior that is as reprehensible as it is indefensible. - 03/10/2009
Club: Conyers rep sought bribe
DETROIT -- Lawyers for a strip club have asked a federal judge for permission to amend their lawsuit against the city so they can add bribery allegations against City Council President Monica Conyers and her former aide, Sam Riddle. - 02/28/2009
Detroit
Jury sees two pension bosses
Two city of Detroit pension officials were subpoenaed to appear Wednesday before a federal grand jury conducting an ever-widening investigation into City Hall corruption, their attorney confirmed. - 02/26/2009
Mallett verifies link to Cobo
Former Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Conrad Mallett Jr. had a share of electrical and janitorial contracts at Detroit's Cobo Center that have been linked to a City Hall bribery scandal, Mallett confirmed Tuesday. - 02/11/2009
Detroit contracts probed in '05
A federal grand jury investigating City Hall corruption subpoenaed a raft of contract records from the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. in 2005, the city agency confirmed Monday. - 02/10/2009
Bernard Kilpatrick denies Synagro pay-to-play allegations
The father of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, implicated in a federal probe of City Hall, denied a pay-to-play scheme and said that those who are "demonizing" his son were coming after him. - 01/30/2009
Frank Beckmann
Commentary: Will Synagro contract investigation wake up Detroit's voters?
Political consultant Sam Riddle has an apt description of Detroit's political culture. - 01/30/2009
Conyers aide under fire
A lawyer for a strip club official says his client told a federal grand jury Wednesday that a top aide to then-City Councilwoman Monica Conyers offered to deliver her vote on a permit transfer for $25,000. - 01/29/2009
Feds up pressure in bribery probe
Federal prosecutors are stepping up pressure on those involved in the Synagro sludge scandal to come forward and cut a deal or face indictment and harsh treatment, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Detroit said Tuesday. - 01/28/2009
Editorial: Council is right to dump Synagro
The Detroit City Council was right to vote Tuesday to ask Mayor Ken Cockrel and the city law department to rescind the city's contract with Synagro Technologies, a Texas-based sludge hauling firm. Now that one of its former executives has entered a guilty plea to engaging in a bribery conspiracy to win the contract, it is, in Councilman Kwame Kenyatta's words, "tainted." - 01/28/2009
Kilpatrick, dad linked to FBI bribery investigation
Court documents filed in connection with a guilty plea Monday tie former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his father, business consultant Bernard N. Kilpatrick, to an ongoing federal bribery investigation. - 01/27/2009
Synagro contract 'tainted'
DETROIT -- City Councilman Kwame Kenyatta said Monday he plans to move to rescind the controversial Synagro Technologies Inc. contract as soon as today. - 01/27/2009
City Hall corruption probe's key figures
Here are key figures in the FBI's corruption probe into City Hall that centers on the Synagro sludge contract: - 01/27/2009
Feds summon Conyers' ex-aide
FBI agents investigating alleged City Hall corruption delivered a grand jury subpoena Friday to a former aide to Detroit City Council President Monica Conyers, the former aide's attorney confirmed. - 01/10/2009
