DETROIT (AP) – Residents suspected of official corruption can now report this information directly to the Detroit FBI office using a new email address to enhance federal agency public relations.
The launch of [email protected] follows years of investigations into corruption in Detroit and the surrounding suburbs, including bribery, kickbacks, tampering with municipal contract offers, and willful non-enforcement of local regulations.
Public corruption can be difficult to spot as public information is critical to the FBI’s efforts, the agency said in a press release on Wednesday.
Two Detroit police officers were recently charged in federal court with taking bribes to break the rules and direct cars to a preferred towing company. The charges were the latest in a state investigation into Detroit towing procedures.
Detroit City Councilor Andre Spivey pleaded guilty in September of accepting $ 36,000 in bribes related to overseeing towing policies. Spivey has resigned.
FBI agents raided Detroit City Hall offices and the homes of two other city council members in August. Agents were seen leaving City Hall with boxes.
“Most civil servants strive to serve their communities with integrity,” said Timothy Waters, FBI Detroit special agent, in a press release. “Unfortunately, we continue to see elected and appointed officials across the state of Michigan using their positions for personal gain.”
One of the most notorious cases of corruption in Detroit involved former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
Kilpatrick served over seven years of a 28-year prison sentence following his 2013 conviction for unlawful conspiracy, fraud, extortion and tax offenses. At the time, the government called it the “Kilpatrick Company,” a plan to crush contractors and reward allies.
Kilpatrick was released from prison in January after President Donald Trump commuted his sentence.
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