Monica Conyers Pleads to Felony

By Jeralyn, Section Corruption Cases
Posted on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 11:07:03 AM EST
Tags: Monica Conyers (all tags)

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Detroit City Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers, wife of Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bribery, a felony, in connection with the Synagro bribery investigation.

Her lawyer, Steve Fishman, says her sentencing guidelines are likely to be 30 to 37 months. Her plea agreement did not refer to cooperation with the Government in exchange for a sentence reduction and states the parties do not agree on the amount of loss or restitution. The maximum sentence possible is 5 years. The Information and Plea Agreement are here (pdf).

Rep. Conyers' office issued this statement: [More...]

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

The U.S. Attorney, Terrence Berg, said Rep. Conyers had no involvement.

"I also want to make it equally clear that the evidence offered no suggestion that U.S. Rep. John Conyers, Mrs. Conyers' husband, had any knowledge or role in Mrs. Conyers' illegal conduct, nor did the congressman attempt to influence this investigation in any way."

Update: Sam Riddle, Conyers' former Chief of Staff, has not agreed to plead guilty as of this time. Rayford Jackson, the consultant to Synagro who caused the bribe to be paid to Conyers, pleaded guilty last week. His plea agreement is here (pdf).

His agreement refers to "Courier A" who delivered the bribes to Conyers. It says "Courier A" will not be charged in exchange for his/her cooperation, but there is no agreement as to "Courier A"'s supervised release revocation. So "Courier A", the delivery person, was a felon who had served time in prison. He has been identified elsewhere as Rayford Jackson's brother, Lennie Jackson.

Another person involved in the conspiracy according to Rayford Jackson's plea agreement is Synagro Vice President James Rosendal, Jr., who pleaded guilty earlier this year.

According to Jackson's agreement, "Courier A" delivered the bribes once to Conyers' aide and three times to Conyers herself. The amounts for the first two payments aren't specified, but the last two payments were $3,000.00 each.

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Monica Conyers Pleads to Felony | 5 comments (5 topical)

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Hallelujah! (none / 0) (#1)
by jbindc on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 12:21:36 PM EST

She is scourge on the City of Detroit. Kwame Kilpatrick is gone, now Conyers, and hopefully the FBI investigation will overturn more rocks and squash the vermin that occupy the City Council.

Now I have a better understanding (none / 0) (#2)
by inclusiveheart on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 12:31:22 PM EST

of why Conyers isn't out in public pushing for progressive healthcare solutions. Very distressing that so many people in our government are so ethically challenged.

I think (none / 0) (#3)
by jbindc on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 12:34:23 PM EST

John Conyers will lay low for a while. Although the allegations that were swirling a while ago about him using his congressional staff to babysit and run personal errands for he and his wife might surface again.

Also, I just read the US Attorney's statement and he said the investigation is now closed, so they will not be charging any more council members. Too bad.


He shouldn't just answer for them, he should (none / 0) (#4)
by Inspector Gadget on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 01:50:30 PM EST

Although the allegations that were swirling a while ago about him using his congressional staff to babysit and run personal errands for he and his wife might surface again.

Come clean on what made him think it was acceptable. I spent numerous years overseas while my ex- worked for big bucks and generous benefits. It was amazing how those guys still felt it was necessary to cheat more out of the employer. They learned the tricks from each other. My guess is our congressional folks are learning how to be greedy from each other. Term limits needs more interest.


: Didn't you know (none / 0) (#5)
by jbindc on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 02:34:06 PM EST

I work on Pennsylvania Avenue - halfway between the Capitol and the WH, and I can tell you, the air they breathe is very different from what I breathe. I can't imagine the difference between what they breathe and what folks in Nebraska or Iowa or Alaska or Texas or Maine breathe.