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Conyers Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy

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Ben Schmitt, Joe Swickard, Jim Schaefer, David Ashenfelter, Tammy Stables Battaglia, M.L. Elrick and Zachary Gorchow, Detroit Free Press, June 26, 2009

Detroit City Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers pleaded guilty this morning to conspiring to commit bribery and is free on personal bond.

U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn said, “The defendant now stands convicted.”

The one count of conspiring to commit bribery is punishable by up to five years in prison.

No sentencing date has been set.

In court, Conyers’ combative demeanor was gone, replaced by soft-spoken resignation as the judge and his staff several times asked her to speak up.

Conyers, the wife of powerful Democratic congressman U.S. Rep. John Conyers, appeared before Cohn to answer charges in connection with the wide-ranging probe of wrongdoing at Detroit city hall.

She has long been under suspicion in the Synagro Technologies bribery probe, not least because she had been a vocal opponent of the contract before suddenly switching her sentiments. She became the deciding voice in the city council’s 5-4 vote to approve the sludge-hauling deal in November 2007.

“This is not the beginning and it is certainly not the end, folks,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Andy Arena said at a news conference this morning.

Arena said the message to corrupt public officials is, “We’re coming after you.”

U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg, a Detroit resident, said the city corruption probe continues, but this is the end of his office’s investigation “of Synagro-related conduct.”

It remains unclear if federal investigators are still considering Synagro charges against Sam Riddle, the ex-Conyers aide, who court documents suggest was with Conyers when she received at least one of the bribes.

The Free Press previously reported that Riddle is also under investigation for possible corruption in Southfield. In that instance, authorities are looking into whether a pawn shop in that city used undue influence to win quicker approval to move its store to another part of Southfield.

Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel, who testified before the grand jury in the case, hailed the clearing of other members.

{snip}

Berg said the plea deal does not require Conyers to cooperate in the ongoing investigation of city corruption.

{snip}

The federal plea document released today cites two instances in late 2007, in the days surrounding the approval of the now-infamous Synagro Technologies sludge-hauling contract, when Conyers accepted cash bribes from a Synagro consultant.

The document does not cite the specific amount of the bribes, but previous court documents have said that Conyers, identified by the feds as Council Member A, took at least two bribes of $3,000 each, among other bribes.

In both cases cited in the court documents today, Conyers was handed the cash in an envelope by a individual representing Rayford Jackson, a Detroit businessman doing work for Synagro who pleaded guilty to bribery earlier this month.

On one of those two occasions, Conyers was accompanied by an aide. Previous court documents indirectly identified former Conyers aide and political consultant Sam Riddle as having participated in the bribery scheme.

Rayford Jackson’s brother Lennie is believed to be the courier who met with Conyers.

{snip}

The charge reads: Monica Ann Conyers beginning on a date unknown and continuing until or about December 2007, did knowingly and voluntarily conspire and agree with an aide and others to corruptly solicit and demand for the benefit of herself and others and to accept and agree to accept things of value from persons while an agent of the City of Detroit, an entity that received more than $10,000 in federal funding during the calendar year of 2007, with intent that Conyers would be influenced and rewarded in connection with any business transaction or series of transactions of a value of $5,000 or more with the City of Detroit.

Overt acts: On Nov. 20, 2007, at approximately 3:15 p.m., Conyers met with an individual sent by Rayford Jackson in the parking lot at Butzel Family Center and received an envelope containing cash. On Dec. 4, 2007, at approximately 2:30 p.m., an individual sent by Rayford Jackson met Conyers and her aide in a McDonald’s parking lot in Detroit at which time the individual delivered an envelope containing cash.

The two bribes, among others, admittedly accepted by Conyers—one on Nov. 20, 2007, the date of the council vote, and a second on Dec. 4, 2007.

The charging document reads: “The payments were made and received as part of an agreement and understanding between defendant and Rayford Jackson . . . to influence defendant to support the Synagro contract.”

She has been at the center of FBI questioning for months about the city’s sludge disposal contract with Synagro Technologies and her activities as a member of the city pension board.

{snip}

Under federal sentencing guidelines, Conyers could face 31 to 60 months in prison, depending on how much money the judge believes was involved in the scheme. Conyers’ lawyer and federal prosecutors disagree about the amount of money she received.

After pleading guilty, Conyers left the courtroom through a back door and got into a public elevator on the Fort Street side of the federal courthouse.

Conyers declined to comment on her plea, then refused to allow the doors to close until a Free Press reporter got out of the elevator, which was going up. She stepped out of the elevator and flagged a court employee to have the reporter removed.

“Can someone get her out of here?” Conyers asked after declining to comment on her plea.

{snip}

Conyers’ husband, U.S. Rep. John Conyers, was not available for comment this morning. His office released the following statement:

“This has been a trying time for the Conyers family. With hope and prayer, they will make it through this as a family. Public officials must expect to be held to the highest ethical and legal standards. With this in mind, Mr. Conyers wants to work towards helping his family and the city recover from this serious matter.”

{snip}

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union—which bitterly opposed the Synagro deal—welcomed Conyers’ plea.

“She sold her vote to privatize part of the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department’s core operations, and eliminate over a hundred city worker jobs,” AFSCME Local 207 President John Riehl said in a news release today.

“We would hope that all those that violated the rights of the citizens and city workers in the Synagro case will be charged forthwith, including the top levels of the Synagro Corporation,” Riehl wrote. “All guilty public and private officials must resign and be jailed.”

{snip}

[Editor’s Note: An earlier story on this bribery scandal that details other possible financial misdoings can be read here.]

Original article

(Posted on June 26, 2009)

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Comments

1 — Question Diversity wrote at 6:17 PM on June 26:

She won’t do a day in prison. Either the courts sentence her to Probation, or President Obama will commute her sentence if they do.

2 — John PM wrote at 6:36 PM on June 26:

“‘This is not the beginning and it is certainly not the end, folks,’ FBI Special Agent in Charge Andy Arena said at a news conference this morning.

Arena said the message to corrupt public officials is, ‘We’re coming after you.’”

So the FBI will be taking over governing the city of Detroit now?

That is the only way to rid it of “corrupt public officials.”

Or does Special Agent in Charge Arena, only mean the blatant ones like Monica Conyers?

Either way, it seems things are getting interesting in MoTown!

As always, God help us all!!!

3 — truthtopower wrote at 8:55 PM on June 26:

Blacks are told the reason they can’t advance themselves competitively, relying solely on their own intelligence and abilities, is because they are held down by whites.

Arrogance plays a BIG role also in how they view things regarding success, because they have very high opinions of themselves, ones that aren’t backed up by facts, and it is common for them to conclude that whites get ahead for two reason and neither of them have anything to do with intelligence and ability. 1)Blacks generally believe whites get their jobs by knowing someone and 2) Whites who are rich get that way by committing criminal acts, mostly bribery, but also underhanded cheating and dealing, and by outright theft.

I think these ideas are woven into their psyche after years of preaching on the subject from many sources, from white liberals to black leaders. A good example is Jeremiah Wright. He’s told his congregants so many lies about being kept down and cheated by white America I seriously doubt that there’s one single person who doesn’t believe him. I mean, these people, for the most part, are a fairly dimwitted lot. It isn’t really difficult to mold the opinions of people who are as mentally challenged as they are.

There are so many of them caught doing something wrong percentagewise, per their share of the population, I think the aforementioned explanation is the only thing that really can give us a reason for the attitudes they have.

So, when they get into positions where they can take bribes, cheat to get ahead, or whatever, they really think what they’re doing is what whitey has been doing all along and they’re just getting their share, as they should.

Can anyone else point out another reason for their high rate of malfeasance? I’d be interested in reading other theories on the subject.

4 — Tom S wrote at 9:10 PM on June 26:

Well now we know who the next mayor of Detroit will be. She just made alota ‘brownie’ points in the hood, because now she’s ‘one of us that’s down fo’ da struggle’.

5 — Question Diversity wrote at 9:39 PM on June 26:

Truthtopower:

The psychological phenomenon of transferrance is one where you see your own qualities in other people, even if those qualities really aren’t a huge portion of the other people you are seeing. For instance, I tend to think that even the most humble down to earth politicians are hiding their true Machiavellian SOB selves, because you have to be that to win elections. Now, is that the truth, or is that me transferring my own Machiavellian SOBery onto other people? Probably the latter.

Re your (2) theory, those blacks who think that are only seeing themselves in other people, incorrectly so. They think that because that’s the way they are themselves.

6 — jd wrote at 1:36 AM on June 27:

I’ve always been amazed watching blacks in power. They are like children in a candy store, they just can’t help themselves and most of the time it’s for chump change. Like parents feeling guilty about their divorce and overindulging the children, so have the liberal dems. with blacks. They have turned them into perpetual victims with the “where’s mine?” attitude.

7 — Anonymous wrote at 7:47 AM on June 28:

I am amazed at the high rate of crime in this community. They are given everything that they might ever want. They have privileges that we don’t have, including the right to bump us in job applications. They get welfare just for asking. They get away with crimes just by saying that their victim called them a (n-word.) They don’t ever have to work in their lives. Yet they commit crimes at a high rate.

8 — Frank wrote at 2:50 PM on June 28:

If anyone thinks she is going to jail, I have a waterfront lot in New Mexico for sale, right on the Atlantic ocean.

9 — Anonymous wrote at 2:57 AM on June 29:

“I’ve always been amazed watching blacks in power. They are like children in a candy store, they just can’t help themselves and most of the time it’s for chump change.”

Seriously! A city councilwoman married to a US Congressman… and she risks going to jail and ruining both of their careers for a few thousand dollars? It’s like Winona Ryder shoplifting. Do they do it just for the thrill or do they just feel invincible?

10 — Anonymous wrote at 9:46 AM on June 29:

“I’ve always been amazed watching blacks in power. They are like children in a candy store, they just can’t help themselves and most of the time it’s for chump change.”

I think that “children in a candy store” is the best description. As a group,blacks have very poor impulse control. They see,they want,they take. They see,they want,they immediately demand that they be given whatever it is they just decided they want. Risk-stepping back for a few minutes and stopping to do some quick back-of-an-envelope math,or figure out the risk/reward ratio of any given course of action seldom if ever happens. They just aren’t wired that way.

And for everyone out there in cyberspace reading this,shaking their heads and thinking to themselves that I ought not be judging people I don’t know based on the color of their skin,and that sort of thing,here’s my response,in advance:

I’ll stop making quick judgments based on skin color,age,sex,and the like just as soon as insurance companies stop doing it. Of course,not having nearly as much money as insurance companies,I can’t afford my own politicians,but I figure if they can do it and get away with it,I can do it.

11 — Gloria J. Keith wrote at 11:28 AM on June 29:

When the esteem charge was heavily upon me to build an environment conducie to our children’s excellence education, I envisioned to traditional oppression in it’s many forms and the tactics that would be used against my immediate family. This vision included “bribes” and how they must be addressed…To make a long story short, the vision, it all, became a reality, including money being offered, to stop any legal actions and major media docs, I had sphere-headed. I was asked to “take the money” and forget about everthing, else. For me, it wasn’t hard to say, “No” to the bribes, etc.
For Ms. Conyers, perhaps, her situation was totally difficult. Still, what others need to remember from the offices of specifically, blacks and other minorities, the bribes will return to us, in the future, by those that plotted and planned your results. Their negative behaviors that confronted you, were, “for certain”, you were going to take the bribe, knew your history and circumstances more than you, at the time of $ presentation. Now, Conyers will be used to get closer to the President 44, USA. That’s the substance of this evil tactic. Those, a party to this hatred, will only use “tactics”, because strategic planning takes “Thinking Ability”.

12 — SKIP wrote at 4:38 PM on June 29:

. Do they do it just for the thrill or do they just feel invincible?

They do it because THEY CAN and they get away with it. You know she (blacks in general) will do no time for it so WTHN! she will most likely take her husband’s place in Congress when he passes on. Once a position is black, it MUST REMAIN BLACK or the blacks will riot.

13 — SKIP wrote at 4:40 PM on June 29:

I am amazed at the high rate of crime in this community.

Remember, we are talking about a black MAJORITY city here with a black government…what would one expect?

14 — BowleDover wrote at 4:51 AM on June 30:

“…I had sphere-headed”

Gloria, I either agree with you wholeheartedly or cannot disagree with you strongly enough. I’ll let you know as soon as I can make any sense whatsoever out of what you wrote. Seriously, that makes “Gravity’s Rainbow” look like “Old Man and the Sea”. Well done, I think.

15 — Anonymous wrote at 10:26 AM on June 30:

“The apple does not fall far from the tree”. It is time to investigate her husband, john conyers (d) detroit.

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