Ex-Chesterfield Twp. supervisor gets prison for bribery

Former Chesterfield Township Supervisor Michael Lovelock was sentenced Thursday to 24 months in prison for his role in the Macomb County corruption scandal.

Lovelock, 59, of New Baltimore, had pleaded guilty in June 2017 to conspiracy to commit bribery. According to federal prosecutors, he accepted $30,000 in bribes from Chuck Rizzo, the former CEO of Rizzo Environmental Services, from 2010 to 2016, in exchange for supporting a garbage-hauling contract with the township.

Lovelock also accepted two bribe payments totaling $4,000 from an undercover FBI agent and an individual cooperating in the investigation, according to prosecutors. Those payments were recorded on video.

In a statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Lovelock received a reduced sentence for cooperating with the government in its case against Rizzo and others. Rizzo was sentenced in April to 66 months in prison for bribing politicians and stealing money from the garbage-hauling firm he built into a regional powerhouse

Lovelock, a Democrat, lost his bid for re-election in November 2016 to Republican Daniel J. Acciavatti. Lovelock had served as Chesterfield Township supervisor since 2008.

The federal probe of municipal corruption has led to at least 17 convictions, including that of Clinton Township Trustee Dean Reynolds. Another public official charged in the scandal, Dino Bucci, resigned Tuesday as a Macomb County trustee.