Monica Conyers pleaded guilty to bribery
From Sunshine Review
June 26, 2009 Detroit's embattled City Council president pro tempore, Monica Conyers, pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to commit bribery, CNN reported.
[edit] Accepting bribes
The City Council member, 44, admitted to accepting bribes for her vote to sway the City Council to approve Synagro Technologies Inc.'s 2007 $1.2 billion contract. Synagro successfully gave Conyers, wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, money until December 2007.
The same day she received an envelope of cash from convicted Synagro consultant Rayford Jackson, she voted in favor of the contract for waste water treatment on November 20, 2007. In a McDonald's parking lot two weeks later, Jackson gave Conyers another envelope of cash.
"She was the swing vote in this deal," Berg said. "She used her power to get the deal done, and she acknowledged that." [1]
[edit] Conyer's future
State law requires Conyers forfeit her seat, but the language is unclear whether she must do so immediately or after her sentencing.
"It hurts the City Council's image, for sure," City Council President Kenneth V. Cockrel Jr said. "But we need to remember, this is only one member of the council. You can't paint the entire council with the same brush."
Cockrel replaced former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick for seven months after Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to two counts of obstructing justice in this same scandal. The replacement Mayor Cockrel terminated at that time.the city's contract with Synagro.
Conyers faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, according to prosecutors, CNN reported.
Synagro would not comment on Conyers' plea, CNN reported, but a spokeswoman said, "We have cooperated fully with the federal investigation and will continue to do so."[1]
[edit] External links
- Sunshine Review, "Detroit bribery scandal trail leads to consultant and councilwoman"
- Detroit city council
- Synagro technologies
[edit] References
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